Pandora's Hope
by Xeal II
Summary: Jake finally awakens from his paralyzed slumber to a fulfillment he never expected or felt deserving of. Fleeing into the stars, the Sky People leave for their ruined home. Behind, some choose to remain, mending bridges that were burned so terribly.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note:_ There are many good authors who have been attracted to this movie. I don't write for every fandom I enjoy, but for this one, the spectacular writing of a few have inspired me to write a fic of my own for Avatar. You know who are, I'm sure (see my favorites list if you don't). Thank you and it is my hope that my contribution can stand next to yours.

_**Pandora's Hope**_

Life. Death. Rebirth. In his mind, all three were one for an instant, so short and yet seeming to stretch out into eternity. The sensation was beyond his comprehension, like floating in the void between the endless stars. This was the Eye of Eywa, the singularity of the mind where all was dark and all was light, and in that endless abyss of knowledge Jake's mind hovered for just an instant, caught between his fragile human body and the powerful bulk of his adopted form.

Eywa didn't talk to him in any literal sense, yet there was a _presence _about him, an obvious sense of approval. Even after everything his people... his _former_ people had done, Eywa held no malice towards them. Instead there was this sense that the lifeforce regarded mankind as young and primitive, like how a man might regard someone's tantrum-throwing child. Soothing waves passed over his consciousness, reassuring him, pushing him onward. Men would learn. Eywa would wait. This was the way of things.

Ebbs and flows passed by him, carrying him along from thought to thought. They were places within the great mind, waves of an endless ocean, carrying him to shore with bountiful gratitude. Grace was there too, calling as if from some great distance, echoing along the wind.

"_You are the bridge between worlds. How I wish it could have been me..." _Sorrow. It carried forth from the mind within the mind of Eywa. Then it was gone, replaced with contentment. _"So you weren't empty-minded after all."_ The voice faded, rejoining the endless whispers, a wave returning to the endless ocean, a drop falling into the mighty river. Finally they too faded, replaced with the sensations of a body he remembered so fondly. His eyes opened.

"I see you." The words were natural, and it was well that they were the first he spoke. Beauty dominated his vision, a kindred soul, a shapely form. Jake's mind returned to him, thoughts acquiring speed once again. _Eywa,_ how he could feel her. Neytiri was a presence in his mind, beckoning to him with a soft, pure love born of a place where secrets were so few.

"I see you," came the simple reply, her deep, beautiful eyes telling him so much more than her words. A part of him knew that he had not fought the Company because of bravery or love of the fight. He had not done it for the others, for Eywa or the Hometree. He had done it for her. Neytiri had awakened him from his long slumber, his depression-filled existence, confined to some foreign contraption due to a petty conflict over dwindling resources. That long night was over now and despite all of the death and violence which had stricken this world, he felt a measure of happiness. As if reading his thoughts, which, he realized, was very probable, Neytiri bent down and kissed him gently, her lips lingering over his. It probably violated some custom, to display such open affection in front of the assembled tribes at the base of the Tree of Souls. But if anyone was offended by it, none showed it. Turok Makto was not to be denied such a thing.

Jake stood for the first time, his toes curling over the ground, eyes open in wonder, like the baby Neytiri was so fond of calling him in his less-than-bright moments. It was then that his eyes saw his body, surrounded by the threads of Eywa, the connections which had permeated his body, at last making him whole. A pang of regret passed by, but it was brief. Following that, like a flood, were the memories of his human life. They say that your life flashes before your eyes in the moment of death but no one had told him they would flash by at the moment of his rebirth.

...Jake was a child again, running through the trees, chased by his brother. He was so fast, always running. His twin could never catch up, but never gave up trying. He was enlisting in the military, helping to pay for his brother's schooling, trading his natural athletic ability for the chance his brother might travel the stars. He was fighting in the dying jungles of Earth, death following on his heels like a hell-hound but never quite reaching him. How many had he killed? How many faces, names, brothers and sons? A bullet was entering his back, severing his spinal cord like a twig, the devil hovering over him, laughing. Pain. So much pain. Then there was nothing, as if his legs no longer existed at all. His brother was dead, his life was falling apart and all he could think of was how he wanted to run, on legs that no longer worked. Run. Run. Fly. They wanted him to go to Pandora, well fine he could do that. He couldn't run on legs that were broken, but at least he could flee to the ass-end of the universe...

...The images faded again, softening to Neytiri's beautiful face, the sculpted lines of a huntress, a warrior, a lover. Lingering memories faded to the background once again. There was no need to dwell on the past anymore. As far as The People were concerned, he had no past other than the one they knew. He wasn't a "meal on wheels" he was Jakesully, Turok Makto, the lifemate of the most wonderous, beautiful (and dangerous!) creature on any planet. He fled Earth-that-was for Pandora-that-is, a trade only a fool would scorn.

"_Tis better to rule in hell than serve in heaven," _whispered Jake, not realizing he had spoken the words aloud. Some famous old writer had said that, though for the life him, Jake couldn't remember who it was or why the errant thought struck him at that moment. In any event, the author obviously had it backwards. Hell was still a shit-hole and that philosophy of leadership was what led tinpot corporate dictators and psychopathic mercenary leaders to Pandora in the first place. But it was a shit-hole only to them... to him it truly was heaven and he was fulfilled beyond anything he had ever experienced, to serve this world.

"What is that?" Neytiri asked, her ears twisting forward in an expression of curiosity.

"Nothing. Old Sky People saying."

"Are you afraid, no longer dreamwalking?"

"No. I don't fear falling asleep anymore..." His eyes twisted down once more, staring at his prone human form, a body which was empty of life. As if suddenly remembering that he was surrounded by so many, he turned away from the lifeless vessel and walked forward, enjoying the sensation of soil on his feet and the soft, wispy breeze on his blue skin. Cheering erupted like a wave around him... the party had begun.

Jake watched the night sky, his eyes tracking the movement of a tiny star, the reflection of the massive starship breaking orbit. All around him the nighttime sounds of Pandora's lush jungle comforted him in its familiarity. The dream had become reality, the sleeper had awakened. At least sanity had come over the humans at last. It was possible they could have launched another attack with the remaining reentry shuttle, but they had honored the agreement. If only this could have been achieved without the loss of so many good People, without the sacrifices of Grace and Trudy. Tsu'tey's death in particular weighed heavily on his mind. Many had seen the rivalry as a bad thing, but Jake saw it as a challenge, something that was fun, in its own way. Like his brother, death had come for him at the hands of some idiot with a rifle. And now the Omaticaya wanted him to lead them, a responsibility he didn't need or want.

"They are leaving our world?" Neytiri asked, cocking her head slightly with that innocent curiosity he adored.

"Yeah."

"Will they come back?"

"Someday. It takes many years to cross the stars. But the Company? They are finished," said Jake.

"The com-pan-ee?" Neytiri asked.

"Yeah. Not all Sky People are bad..." He began.

"We know that. _I _know." She interrupted, her body curling into his lap as they stared at the stars together.

"...I forget that sometimes. The People have every right to hate Sky People."

"I hate _those_ Sky People." Neytiri said, hissing as she glared upwards at the moving star.

"Those Sky People are from a clan called The Company. When they get back to Earth, the rest of the Sky People will punish them for what they did here. Humans on Earth didn't know how bad things were here. They will now."

"Because of you." Neytiri whispered, her hand caressing his face.

"No, because of you. I'd still be a dreamwalking cripple in a metal box without you." But Neytiri wasn't listening anymore, reaching instead for his lips. She never cared for long, rambling speeches, and Jake wasn't really one to give them. Ignoring the fading star blasting towards his former home, he embraced his mate, feeling her close to him, her warmth, her love...

* * *

The scientist in Norm's mind was like a voice he just couldn't shut-up. Sometimes it was annoying, sometimes it was insightful, but always his thoughts were loud. There were only a few others left at the base camp; the Na'vi having left as soon as the shuttle had taken off. The blue-skinned warriors respected him and the other scientists, but they didn't really understand why they chose to stay. It was enough that Turok Makto had told them that the group of scientists were good Sky People.

They left the base alone, even leaving the scientists a few of the weapons. Norm supposed they would need them if any of the predators out there decided to break down a gate or two. But there were rules. This world was for the Na'vi, and the scientists were guests here. Still the rules weren't anything he could argue with. Refraining from killing Na'vi, burning trees and bulldozing sacred sites was pretty much a no-brainer. At least he could stay here, in this world he loved and finally be able to learn about it free of Company supervision. Norm's excitement ran like a shiver down his spine.

RDA had been so shortsighted. Sure, unobtainium was worth a ridiculous amount of money, but God, this world had so much more to offer. Grace had been studying medicines made from the plantlife and bio-networks that were so much more advanced than the clunky metal boxes men had to use for bio-links. These things had so much more to offer humanity than rocks. Like solutions to the overpopulated, bureaucratic monstrosity Earth had become in the last few centuries. Of course RDA hadn't been interested in putting itself out of business, but Norm had no such qualms. The sooner the C-students were excised from government and corporate offices, the better.

"How're the repairs coming?" Norm asked. With the full resources of the base at his disposal, it was so much easier to get things done! It pained him to lose his Avatar in the final battle, but soon he would have the damage repaired. Norm would never be a Jake Sully, he knew that much, but the Avatar was a fulfillment of a dream for him. Teased as a nerd when he was a child, what he wouldn't have given for a powerful Na'vi body then. God, what a lesson he could have taught them!

"Another four days. Tissue growth acceleration is a little slow. But seriously, Norm, you asked me twice this morning."

"Yeah, well I want to get out there again. We have work to do."

After all, Earth would send more ships, hopefully staffed with sane people. Norm and his science contingent had to bridge the gap between the species as much as possible before they got here. Once, he had thought that impossible but with Jake out there somewhere, he knew it would happen. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not in a hundred years, but someday. After all, Pandora's existence and Earth's ultimate fate depended on it. Like it or not, God, Eywa or whatever the hell was out there had pretty much set it up that way. Few realized the extent of the ecological damage on Earth, the toll of rampant overpopulation, warfare and famine. Grace had known Pandora offered the solution, not in the form of some technological marvels constructed of unobtanium, but in the planet's harmony with its sentient race, something that had never happened on Earth...

Norm smiled as he suddenly latched on to a new name for the reclaimed base station, the words scrolling on his monitor.

_Hope Station_

After all, Pandora had opened her box, loosing death and pestilence on the land, and as she looked to see what still glittered inside, Hope was what remained within.

** To be continued **


	2. Chapter 2

Mankind had reached out from its home like a tentacled beast, sending out great starships across the infinite starry expanse. So many thought of it as a new frontier, an expedition to some mystical unknown lands, but Jake knew it for what it really was. For all the science and knowledge of man, they couldn't see the obvious. Humans were bailing out of their own world like rats jumping into the ocean, instinctively escaping the certain death of a sinking ship, one whom they had wounded so grievously. They were lifelines cast into the depths of space searching for an answer, for a rescue. The answer wasn't in some super-conducting rock either.

So many Na'vi looked up to the skies in wonder, now perhaps with a touch of fear, for this was the domain of the Sky People now. Jake kept his eyes on the ground now, he wanted nothing more to do with the world of high technology. Oh, certainly there had been stories of men in older days, frontiersman who had lost that final remnant of civilization and gone native. There had been a certain romanticism to that in the holo-movies even in his day. But Pandora was different. Ultimately men _needed_ technology to understand the world around them. The Na'vi didn't. Why build airplanes when you could bond with an _ikran_? Why construct great skyscrapers when the trees here dwarfed anything men had ever seen? What need was there for computers when the entire ecosystem was aware of itself? Pandora not only didn't want the machines, the world truly didn't require them for anything.

That was what Neytiri had meant when they had first met. Men just didn't _see_ like the Na'vi could, though he was living proof that mankind could learn. Maybe it had been his disappointment with life on Earth or maybe it was just as Grace had said it, his head was just empty. Whatever it was, Eywa had seen it in him and for that he was ever grateful. Even now he felt the lifeforce around him, a dim connection, like whispers on the wind, just on the edge of comprehension. Every day brought some fresh realization about this place, some new awareness, so much stronger since he had joined with his Avatar permanently.

"Sky People have many powers." He told the curious children before him. Teaching had never been his thing, but like the leadership of the tribe, it was forced upon him. Yet, like everything else this planet burdened him with, he found himself uniquely suited to the task. Maybe this is why people had gone native in the distant days of Earth's past. Every day was a new challenge, the forest demanded it, Eywa asked it of him.

"But so little patience..." he continued.

"The dreamwalker is patient." The child answered, referring to Norm, trudging about in his rebuilt Avatar. Hope Station didn't have the equipment to create an Avatar from scratch, only Earth-bound labs had that kind of manpower and equipment. But Norm and his team didn't have to start from nothing and without corporate supervisors, they could do so much more. Much of the old body had been intact and repairing the wounds was much easier than they had expected. It was fortunate, Norm rather liked this body.

"He has learned. Sky People can learn." Jake answered. "But enough for today." The children scampered off to the alcoves in their new home. It wasn't as large or imposing as Hometree, but it would do, and like Hometree, it would grow more over the centuries. As the children disappeared into the massive tree, Norm approached, his new Avatar still bearing the marks of the nutrient connectors in the program vats. Obviously he had rushed the process a little. So the dreamwalker was not so patient, after all. Jake smiled.

"Hey Norm."

"Hey Jake. I was just thinking, could you imagine Grace seeing this? Not only accepted by the Omaticaya, but elevated as their leader?" Norm asked, his voice full of wonder.

"I think a part of her _does _see it. Don't ask me how." Jake answered. Maybe that's why Eywa seemed to have developed a rather cynical side lately. Yes, the lifeforce most certainly had her moods.

"Maybe so. Guess I'd like to think so." Norm continued wistfully. "Look, I've got a request."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Okay, so maybe I'm just the nerd scientist, or whatever. But I want to go through the rituals, like you did." Norm's voice grew more determined with each breathe. "I mean not _exactly _what you did. That 'transfer to the avatar' thing was way too permanent for me. But the rest... I mean that flying around on an _ikran_ stuff looks _fun._"

"Fun, but dangerous. You just fixed that body up. Sure you want to risking it like that?"

Neytiri poked her head out from the tree alcoves, sensing something going on. How does she do that? Jake thought, shaking his head. Their connection was something he was still getting used to, but _Eywa_ how good it felt, that warmth he felt in his heart every time she spoke, every time he saw her face or felt her near. By comparison the bonds between human couples were so weak. Once mated, the bond was almost impossible to break, though he felt something of what it must be like for that to happen. His heart had wrenched with something so powerful it made his human body physically sick when Quaritch had burned Hometree and killed Neytiri's father. Rejection had flowed from her, hitting his heart like a jackhammer. Even thinking of that moment, when Hometree lay burning, Eytukan lay dying and his heart lay broken brought such an intense pain forward it made him shiver.

A hand on his shoulder reminded him that had passed. Jake's mind was still in chaos. It had been one thing to be human, thinking with a human mind, projecting into an alien body. It was another thing entirely to be doing all of the _thinking_ in that body too.

"If I could do it, I'm sure you can, Norm. But it's not up to me." Jake laughed.

"What, I thought you were their leader now?"

"Sure, but you're still looking at it like this is a _human _tribe. Anything I say is more like a strong suggestion, not some kind of law." Jake had noticed the way many in the Omaticaya would _intentionally _disregard his 'suggestions,' especially if he told them _not _to do something. In fact, he was quickly learning that Na'vi leaders lead by example more than by fiat. If the leader is doing it, well then it must be good for the rest of the tribe too. _Eywa_ if only human leadership had accepted such a concept.

"Nor-men wishes to become Omaticaya?" Neytiri cocked her head slightly, giving Norm's avatar a brief once over. "Another dreamwalker?"

"Yeah. Hey, I speak the language..." said Norm quickly, working it like a sales pitch. _"I would be honored to be a part of the Omaticaya." _He exclaimed in Na'vi.

"_So was I. Even Grace said you were too formal." _Jake replied mockingly. Though he hadn't studied the language anywhere near as long as Norm, after months of living among them, his understanding of how it was truly spoken was at least as good.

"Well I didn't stick around here to spend all day at Hope Station. Much better name than Hell's Gate, by the way, isn't it?" Norm's excitement was child-like.

"If Nor-men wishes for the trials we should give them." Neytiri answered simply. She usually carried the mood of the clan, and for all intents and purposes she was the real leader here. If she had accepted the idea the others would too. In theory the clan system was patriarchy, but in practice, it was the matriarch who was usually in control of things, day-to-day. It was something Jake was all to relieved to learn.

"Be careful what you wish for..." Jake warned. "It wasn't easy."

"Nothing worth doing ever is." Norm replied simply.

"You brought a chopper, right?" Jake asked. A few of the Samsons had been disarmed and preserved for the scientists to use. They weren't exactly fighter pilots anyway, in fact Norm was about the only one who showed any sort of proficiency at all.

"Yeah."

* * *

Trudy cursed. It felt good to let loose a steady stream of invective, even if only she could hear it. Fuck the corporate pukes. Fuck the mercenaries who'd slaughter anyone for buck. And most of all, fuck this goddamned forest. To the Na'vi, this might all be sacred ground, but everything here wanted to make a meal out of any humans unfortunate enough to be hanging around. Were it not for her sidearm and the good fortune of stumbling on the damaged off-site avatar container, she'd already be meat in some damn thing's stomach. Had it been three nights? Four? Her emergency rations were gone (fuck those were hard to eat with a damned exopack mask), and her water was just about gone too. The radio was busted up and useless and she had no idea how to contact anyone. There was a busted up AMP suit outside, but the wreck's power cells were damn near empty. The only thing useful there was Quaritch's dead body; it hadn't lasted a night before the local wildlife took care of that particular mess.

It certainly didn't help that she was burnt and bleeding from the crash either. The missile had detonated directly on a rotor, blowing it up in spectacular fashion but leaving the air frame mostly intact, twirling towards the ground at high speed. She supposed she couldn't completely hate the damnable forest, the trees had saved her ass big time. But that didn't matter if she just got eaten instead. For the second time in the last few days, she could hear the distant sounds of rotors. Friendly or enemy, she did not know. For that matter, she had no idea who won the damned battle in the first place. Fear that the Company had won and would be looking for her drove her to hunker down in the wreckage of the portable trailer, but she had already decided she'd build a signal fire anyway. She supposed if she were a Na'vi, she'd just monkey about the trees and be on her way. If only it were that easy.

Still, she felt no regrets about what she had done, going up against the Company and all. People were people, blue and ugly as sin or not. No one deserved to be slaughtered for rocks, except maybe that asshole Quaritch. That dipshit, she would have happily slaughtered for a fucking sandwich. Too bad he was already dead, probably digesting in some predator's gullet. Good for you, Quaritch you asshole, you amounted to a pile of crap on an alien planet, she thought acidly. She rummaged for everything remotely burnable, tossing it into a huge pile outside the container. The steady stream of vitriol coming out of her mouth would have offended an old Earth sailor.

As rotor sounds echoed in the distance, Trudy lit up the pile of debris, a rapidly rising plume of smoke from burning rubber, wood and God knows what extending far above her. On a natural planet like Pandora, this was one hell of a way to make an impression. If this had been Earth, planting a fucking a tree would have helped more than smoke. If there was one reason she had left that cesspit of a planet, it was just that. She was sick of a planet so ass backwards its native population had to put on a rebreather on a bad fallout or smog day. Who the hell figured fighting on your own turf with nukes was a good idea, anyhow? Oh... they were _small_ nukes, the Internet reports went, they were Tactical nukes, not weapons of mass destruction. As if a hundred Hiroshimas and enough fallout to bring about a partial nuclear winter was "small." The Na'vi might not be the brightest bulbs in the universe, but there was no way they could be dumber than starship full of humans.

A Samson chopper appeared over the treetops, hovering just over the treetops her as she waved repeatedly. Obviously the pilot over there was suspicious, which meant it was probably friendly. After all, most of the bodies around here were Company people, buried in melted scrap. A brief pang of loss registered in the back of her mind somewhere. _Her_ beloved chopper was a pile of melted scrap. Only a pilot could explain the attachment formed to a favorite aircraft.

The pilot overcame his reluctance and came out into the open, hovering over the grass in the clearing as Jake's avatar form leaped off the deck. She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. After seeing Quaritch's body she had hoped the battle turned in their favor, but now she finally had proof. If Jake was operating his avatar, it wasn't from here... so it had to be from Hell's Gate. That meant the base had fallen. Well, she wouldn't shed any tears over that shithole.

"About time. You were just going to leave me out here?" Trudy demanded.

"We thought you were dead. We saw your chopper blow up..." Jake protested. A smile crept onto his face as he ignored the urge to hug the pilot (that would probably kill her). "Damn, it's good to see you. Thank _Eywa_ you're still breathing."

"Yeah, Yeah, so I didn't blow up, just got burned, cut, bruised and starved. Is this your handy work?" Trudy asked, pointing to the AMP suit and the bloody, torn seat where Quaritch had been.

"Neytiri's actually. "

"Tough bitch." Trudy admired. "Who's flying that thing?"

"Norm. He's still learning, though." Jake added as the chopper landed and the rotors spun down.

"Get out, this is my baby now." Trudy glared at the oversized avatar body, barely able to fit in the cockpit. Even then, a seat had been pulled out and the controls rigged with larger knobs. Damn, how that must be awkward, she thought. "Why don't you go get yourself one of those dragons or something?"

"Not now. There's a lot more I have to learn first." Norm chimed in as he hastily clambered out of the cockpit, hitting his head twice. "Nice to see you too, by the way." He added as he ducked through the door and out of the cockpit. Trudy's annoyance with the reconfigured controls was evident in her fearsome scowl and somehow she just didn't quite look right without her sunglasses. Outside twilight was just beginning to creep up over the horizon and a sudden thought struck her. She didn't want to be responsible for a pair of useless, empty bodies.

"Jake, when are you all doing the sleep'n'switch?" She asked. Jake looked beseechingly at Norm.

"Uh uh. No way. You're explaining that." Norm replied, adding to the pilot's confusion...


	3. Chapter 3

Dreams, real ones now, came to him again, nagging at his awareness. For months he had switched back and forth, day and night, sometimes several times a day. Some part of his consciousness kept expecting it to happen again. As he slept, his life-mate warmth curled in his arms, he would dream of being human again. Though to him, it felt more like a nightmare.

Useless legs dangled before him as he watched, helplessly as the Na'vi were slaughtered again and again. Hometree was burning for eternity, smoke pouring into the skies, morphing into the great industrial towers of Earth. Neytiri was there, reaching for his mask, but somehow she never got there in time, the coughing giving way to bloody spasms. The nuclear fire was everywhere, annihilating the jungles of Pandora, fiery creatures darting this way and that trying desperately to escape. Towering mushroom clouds reached for the gas giant above, spreading along the fearsome winds, fallout carried to every distant corner of the planet...

"...My Jake, wake up." Neytiri was shaking him, her concerned gaze staring deep into him. Somehow she always knew when this nightmare returned. Na'vi mating created a bond deep within the mind, she always knew when he was in distress. Briefly he wondered if she saw the same images, the sheer power that mankind held and the thin layer of self control that governed its use.

"You have the same dream?" Neytiri asked in English. She insisted on speaking the language in private. As she explained it, the Sky People language had to be maintained in the tribe for the day when others would return. Jake knew that wasn't the whole truth, though. Part of his life-mate just liked to have their own private little language that most of the clan could speak so little of.

"Yeah. Same dream."

"You think it will come true?"

"No. Not here. Maybe on Earth, they've come close to doing it many times." That was certainly true enough. The last such conflict saw the widespread use of tactical nukes in theater, the carnage had been horrific and an ecosystem already damaged by overpopulation had been pushed beyond the brink. Nuclear winter effects had ruined the weather patterns, entire crop lines had been destroyed, leaving Earth's population dependent on foul-tasting algae products for most of its food. The human part of his mind had wanted to help them, but pushing off the violence to another planet wasn't the answer, it just made the problem worse, bringing the violence to a people who didn't deserve it.

"_Before the Sky People came, I didn't believe such death was possible."_ Neytiri replied, switching to the Na'vi language.

"_If Sky People have mastered anything, it's the art of killing,"_ said Jake. _"But it is different for them, before I came here I never knew such bonds as with an ikran, with Eywa or with a life-mate." _He smiled at the last, gently caressing her hand. _"Humans never could connect to the world the way you... we... do. If they could, it would be different; they would be different."_

"_Then we must make them see." _Neytiri answered simply. Her simple way of looking at things belied a great intelligence. Men had underestimated the Na'vi due to their seemingly simplistic outlook on things. But to a Na'vi, humans were unnecessarily complex, always making simple things complicated when they didn't have to be. As Mo'at had said, they thought of it as a sort of incurable insanity.

Jake had gone a long way to changing that view; humanity's lack of insight into other forms of life wasn't insanity, it was something to pity. Somehow, life on Earth had evolved separated from one another, always competing for everything, always fundamentally alone in the world. Sometimes, that competition drove mankind's greatest achievements, granting them power over the sciences, driving everything from economies to space travel. But other times, that instinctive drive was undeniably fatal, both to man and any other life unlucky enough to be in the way. Jake knew this, but explaining it to the Na'vi, who had no common frame of reference, was exceptionally difficult.

Fortunately, for man, the Avatars existed. The scientists who stayed behind would have to learn and share the connection to Eywa, that they might _see. _Without the Avatar program, it was rather like trying to explain sight to a blind man. For all intents and purposes, that's exactly what it was, a sense mankind simply didn't have and thus couldn't understand.

"Enough, this thinking." Neytiri cautioned in English. Ever since coming to Pandora, Jake had acquired this tendency to over-think, but then his entire world and outlook on life had changed so radically. It was to be expected. His mate was always there to bring him back to reality.

"Yeah. Gives me a headache anyway."

"We must hunt today." She continued, reaching for her father's bow. Yeah, no refrigerators here in the Pandoran jungles. If you wanted to eat, you had to go kill it yourself. _Eywa _how people on Earth complained about having "nothing to do today." There was always work to be done here. If you weren't hunting, you were weaving rope, hollowing alcoves, collecting water or any number of other tasks humanity had long since delegated to machines. But as a former Marine, Jake was used to such things. You had to improvise, keep on your toes, life wasn't supposed to be a cakewalk anyway...

...They had been tracking a herd of hexapede's for hours. Neytiri glided across the forest floor without the slightest disturbance, every footfall silent, masked by the sounds of the forest around her. His eyes gravitated admiringly to her long, slim form, bending and twisting in just the right angles. Obviously his new body had been affecting what he thought of as desirable, and it continued to make her far more attractive every day. Or was that the mating link itself that did that? He supposed he would never know for certain, but either way the Na'vi huntress was like a vision of loveliness, albeit a rather deadly one.

Jake was rather slower, but managed to keep relatively quiet as they tracked a herd through the underbrush. That had been the hardest thing to learn about Pandora, silence didn't really come naturally to him, but Neytiri had been an excellent teacher. Her hand shot out, waving him downward as she ducked into the tall stalks, silently readying her bow. Jake brought up his knife, prepared to finish the job, or chase down the prey if it still moved. The partnership worked well, Neytiri was the better archer, but Jake was the faster runner.

As always, Neytiri's aim was flawless, plowing into the hexapede's flank with expert marksmanship. Yet the animal wasn't prepared to give up quite yet. It bolted rapidly away from her, baying loudly in pain as the rest of the herd scattered. Jake leaped into action, gaining rapidly on the wounded beast. It only took a few moments for it to tire from blood loss and neurotoxin, giving him the chance to catch up. As he had been taught, he buried the knife quickly in the hexapede's heart, ending its struggles as humanely as possible. As he recited the incantation, he felt the animal's death, its energy vanishing beneath the surface, restored to Eywa...

* * *

Norm laughed as he climbed out of the avatar chamber. Trudy wasn't amused. She thought Jake had gone off his rocker, one too many breaths of Pandora's toxic atmosphere maybe. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been true. _Permanently _transferred into an avatar? That sort of thing just wasn't supposed to be possible. Yet it most certainly _had _happened. All of the other avatar chambers were empty and Jake himself was nowhere to be found.

"You should have seen your face."

"Shuttup," she said, her serious expression halting the torrent of laughter rather suddenly. "Better. Now lets talk about getting what's left of this shit organized."

"What do you mean?"

"Well unless you want this base to be overrun by thanators, or something worse, I suggest we post some kind of guard watch on the towers. How are we on food and other consumables?" She began, shaking her head at the naivete of these damned techno-monkeys.

"Well there was enough of that for the entire base crew, it should last us awhile, right?"

"Wrong. We were in the middle of resupply ops from Venture Star... that takes several months to unload, one shuttle at a time, you know. We probably only have something like half a full loadout." Trudy pointed out. "How many are left?"

"Forty-three. Most of the Avatar team stayed behind. Some factory engineers and a couple of the mercenaries decided they didn't want to participate in the slaughter and didn't trust everyone else not to sabotage their cryo tubes on the way home. Probably wise, at that. Parker didn't look to happy about all this." Norm rattled off, getting his bearings. It was becoming more and more difficult to do things in his human body, the more time he spent in his avatar form. Part of that was the natural degradation from a lack of exercise but part of it was just that he wasn't _used_ to doing things with this body anymore. Still, he was rather fond of it and the whole transference thing was a rather daunting prospect. For Jake, crippled and in love, the choice had been relatively easy, but for Norm there were still advantages to the human form. Like not drooling on his samples, for one.

"Yeah, Parker's ass is catching the pink slip as soon as Venture Star hits Earth orbit." Trudy observed. Her lips curved upwards in a hint of a smile before catching herself. "With that few, we can figure the consumables situation over the next few weeks. Might need some help from our new friends, though."

"Shouldn't be a problem. Jake's been telling us we need to study this link the Na'vi have with Eywa anyway. Grace said the same thing before she died. There must be something in it..."

"Well, go find out. That's all you." Trudy's patience was already wearing thin. She didn't mind the scientists, their hearts were in the right place, but damn they could be daft sometimes. Someone had to keep out the things that went bump in the night, keep the lights on and the food flowing (even if it was nasty). It certainly wasn't going to be them. Part of her was happy Jake had found himself out there with the blue skins, but damn she missed his expertise right now. A good marine would help keep things working smoothly around here.

Norm concentrated on the latest batch of samples from the Tree of Souls. The structure was amazing, like something in between a synapse and a network connection. It was difficult to explain exactly what it was, but the purpose of it was as Jake had described it and Grace had suspected. In its own way, the tree system tied everything together. Most species here had evolved queues, methods of dialing in to the vast network, giving them some kind of natural symbiosis with their environment. At some level, they could _feel_ the damage done to their planet, and it manifested itself as a latent hostility to humanity from pretty much every creature here. The reaction was rather like white blood cells driving out a foreign bacterium in a human body.

Eywa might not take sides, but the life here certainly didn't care much for people, not that Norm could blame them. Still, the ecological balance here was amazingly self-sustaining as a result, consciously adjusting conditions to keep the balance of life intact. It certainly explained the lack of invasive microorganisms here, they were wasted biomass as far the ecosystem here was concerned. A strange thought overcame him then as he thought about the wrecked ecosystem back on Earth. What if Pandoran trees were introduced there? Mankind had little success trying to rebuild the shattered environment of Earth, the result of countless wars, pollution and overpopulation.

RDA had always thought the fix for Earth was unobtanium, providing superconducting material to increase energy production and transmission efficiency, reducing the amount and scale of human industry as a result. That was the cover story, anyway. Really, RDA was more interested in just selling the rocks to whomever wanted to buy them, and the material was very useful in fabricating certain types of weapons, like long range rail guns. But what if the real fix for Earth wasn't unobtanium, what if it was the very life-essence of the planet itself. Humanity just couldn't fine tune an ecosystem properly, every time people messed with the environment, they only set it further off balance. There were too many variables to measure, it was simply an impossible task... for a species that couldn't _feel _the right answers instinctively.

The question occupied him for the rest of the night, but there were so many problems with the idea. Would Pandoran plant life even be able to survive on Earth? And how would they get seeds there in the first place?


	4. Chapter 4

Only silence marked the encounter. Plumes of plasma exhaust streamed into space from the same direction for a moment so short in time even a blink would have seen it vanish. Along the space lane from Earth to Pandora, ISV _Venture Star _blazed ahead on her unscheduled departure, her hybrid drive blazing with activity, bright red with the antimatter reaction in full swing, already accelerated to nearly half the speed of light in several months worth of gradual buildup. Close by, relatively speaking, her sister ship ISV _Capital Star _blazed in the throes of her deceleration maneuvers, using her drives as a massive brake in space, decelerating from her top speed so close to that great speed limit of the universe. At such speeds no one on board either ship could ever hope to see the other, not even a visual flash registered on the monitors.

ISV _Capital Star'_s computers registered her sister's radio frequency however, accounting for the massive blue shift on approach and the red shift on departure. In the brief window where communication was possible, the sum of _Venture Star'_s records on Pandora were transferred. Aboard the great starship's lazily rotating habitat module, her caretaker crew looked on in shock as the unbelievable data poured in. They were merely operators, the 'lucky' ones RDA assigned to stay awake and bored for the entire journey, monitoring the massive vessel's course and engine reaction. No one had ever expected them to handle an impossible situation like this. Against Company policy, cryo tubes stirred early as scientists and Company executives were summoned from their long sleep...

Many months had passed since the Time of Great Sorrow and Jake barely even thought about his human life anymore. Even in those brief moments when he looked back, it was only to the times spent with this twin, the only real happiness he had known before Pandora. More often he found himself speaking the Na'vi tongue, English just didn't sound _right_ anymore. He couldn't say exactly why this life appealed to him so. It was hard work, living as an Omaticaya, yet somehow it was fulfilling in a way Earth never had been for him. Maybe, he thought wryly, he just didn't like being bored. Life here was never boring, that much was certain.

Neytiri's hand reached for his, gripping almost instinctively as she continued to dream, the lingering afterglow of their mating last night still fresh in his awareness. That, too, was something took getting used to. The mating ritual tied them together mentally as well as physically, and long after the physical act was over, the mental connection continued. Their minds were almost one throughout the night, tied deeply in the _bond. _Such a feeling as that was beyond any description he could muster.

He could feel her thoughts on the edge of his awareness, her life-force within him. In some ways they acted alike, sharing habits and mannerisms. _Eywa_, they were even beginning to look like each other. It had been a simple thing, staring into the pool of water and seeing familiar features that were not his own. She had laughed when he pointed that out; all Na'vi knew that, it was Eywa's way of declaring the bond. It was Eywa showing to the world that they were a mated pair, giving them a superficial resemblance to each other. Sometimes, according to his mate, he was still _skxawng, _for being so surprised at these things_._

Jake let her sleep a little longer than he should have, but she needed the rest. It had taken a lot of time and effort to train Norm for this day, but it had finally come. Today they would climb the sacred mountains, to the nesting place of the _ikran, _there to stand by their friend as he took the Trial. Neytiri finally stirred slowly, smiling quickly as her eyes opened.

"My Jake." She said simply, her eyes filled with love. As she glanced about her, taking in the sunlight, she frowned ever so slightly. "You let me sleep too long."

"You needed it." Jake pointed out.

"Come, there is much to do." With a start, she was out of their hammock and reaching for her bow. When she wanted something done, she was all business. But then that was one of the traits that had attracted him in the first place, he had a distaste for time-wasters and Neytiri was anything but.

Norm was already waiting for them with the other potentials, an eager, determined expression lined on his face. He had worked hard over the last several months. Certainly he already had an understanding of Na'vi culture and language, but when it came to sheer toughness, there was much for him to learn. Something had changed within the scientist during that final battle, though. He had acquired an edge, a thing Jake had seen before in combat veterans. And it was good, one needed an edge to survive as a hunter on this world. Both Jake and Neytiri had worked hard to instill survival skills and hunting ability in him, but their lessons had finally taken root. Neytiri was right, Norm was truly ready.

"I'm ready for this. Let's go."Norm stated impatiently in the Na'vi tongue. He was truly excited for the prospect of joining the clan, not as an outsider, but as a true hunter. The scientist had finally understood what Jake had meant when he told him that life within an avatar gradually became so much more real than the 'true' one. Maybe it was because Na'vi bodies had such powerful senses and the world just _felt _more real. Or maybe it was the simplistic yet difficult lifestyle that forced a man to wake up to the world around him. Either way, his earlier fear of the transference Jake had undergone was rapidly waning. Someday, perhaps, he would be ready for that too.

"Don't be in such a hurry. You must be careful. Remember, your ikran will try to kill you," said Jake solemnly. It was rare that a hunter failed the trails, the Na'vi took great precautions in only subjecting the test to those who were prepared for it, but it did happen from time to time.

"You will feel your ikran, here." Neytiri added, gesturing within. Jake felt the twinge of sorrow ripple through his mate. Though she had bonded with another _ikran_ recently, she still held a certain fondness for her first _ikran, _Seze_, _lost in the final battle_._ This would still be difficult for her, but it was something she had to do. Their hands met, fingers locking together in comfort as Jake felt the sorrow fade. Moving along, he addressed each young warrior in turn, providing words of comfort and advice. It was a leadership function among the Na'vi. No one questioned him, for who could deny the expertise of Toruk Makto on such matters?

* * *

Trudy missed _her _Samson. She knew that this chopper was an otherwise identical copy, but it wasn't the same. There had been that damned humming noise from rotor one she could never pin down, probably from some rock getting sucked into the duct and knocking the prop just slightly off balance. She remembered the paint scratches from her near miss with one of the floating mountains. This machine just didn't have them, it wasn't _hers_ yet. Still, it was what she had. The new paint job left something to be desired, some Na'vi children had decided the thing was ugly and needed to be properly decorated with tribal markings. At least it made her bird distinctive, though. Banking around a small floating crag, she steadied the craft, waiting for her cue.

Today would be rather interesting. Norm was doing the whole 'mount the dragon' thing and might be getting his damn-fool-ass killed, or at least his avatar anyway. It might as well be the same thing, the way he was attached to it now. Supposing he succeeded, though, this would be an interesting experiment. Most of the Na'vi fliers had come to accept her lingering around their formations and she had to admit it was _fun_ flying around with them. But there was still a hint of fear in some of them, after all she was flying the same kind of machine that had killed so many. Certainly no one at Hope Station was able to keep up with her either. But that was where Norm came in, she'd finally have a wingman again, in a manner of speaking, anyway. Just what the hell did you call formation flying with a bunch of blue-skins on flying lizards, anyway?

"Rogue One, get ready." Jake's voice came through the radio and she smiled with anticipation. So they had arrived. Well, she thought, hopefully the dumb bastard doesn't fuck up. She chuckled slightly at the thought, but there was a touch of fear there too.

"Okay, you're up," said Jake gesturing forward towards the nest, trying to avoid betraying any sense of worry. The other two candidates had successfully passed the trial and were now flying about wildly, screaming with joy. Only Norm remained.

"Remember the bond!" Neytiri shouted after him. Sometimes one got so caught up in the struggle to subdue an _ikran_ that the bond wasn't made fast enough. It was certainly the most common mistake, one even Jake had made, getting thrown before climbing back on and finishing the job. It was easy, in the head of wrestling the beast down, to fail to make the bond at the first available opportunity.

For his part, Norm's heart beat faster with anticipation, every fiber of his being focused on this one moment. He was invading their domain and he felt it in every step. Some jumped away, flying away from the trespasser. Others backed off slowly, hissing and baying but cautiously avoiding him. Which one was it, he thought, which one was his? His grip tightened on the rope, eyes scanning the area for the one that would stand up to him. That's when he saw it.

One didn't look away and cower in fear, in fact this _ikran_ was moving towards him, teeth snapping with anger. Norm knew the beast for what it was: his. He felt the creature within him, the connection that _could_ form, should this battle go right. But this _ikran _had no interest in doing things the right way. It snapped and thrashed about with rage, ready to tear up this offender.

Norm leaped into action, quickly scrambling on top of the beast's back, trying to lock those massive jaws with the rope, but it slipped out of his fingers as the _ikran _bayed and bucked fiercely, nearly tearing his arm off. Snapping teeth were everywhere, but Norm remained firmly on the creature's back, being tossed about wildly but keeping a solid grip with one arm. The _ikran _tried a new tactic, leaping into the air, thrashing about to toss the would-be rider into the depths, but Norm was faster, reaching for the queue with his free arm, cementing the bond just as it jumped off the edge and into the air.

"Fly! Say to fly!" Neytiri screamed over the noise. Sometimes it happened this way, where the _ikran _would be bonded while in flight, but it could be dangerous, the rider had to respond quickly to correct the flight, or both could die. For a moment there was nothing, both Norm and the _ikran_ were out of sight, tumbling somewhere underneath the floating mountain. She and Jake stared, sharing a mutual dread as the seconds ticked by. Then Norm sailed out from underneath the mountain, shouting with joy as he ascended higher, shooting out from just above the tree tops. It had been close for a few moments, but Norm had pulled it off.

"Okay, Rogue One, lets dance." Jake said into the radio tab around his neck. With a whoop of pleasure, he mounted his loyal _ikran _and ascended to the sky, Neytiri flying at his side. Meeting up with the other successful warriors, they began dancing in the clouds, banking this way and that. Trudy was there too, flying wildly out from behind another mountain, joining the formation.

"Now THIS is some serious fun," came the pilot's reply. And the next few hours were just that, fun. God, I haven't had this much fun since basic flight, she thought as she charged forward in a contest of speed. Those banshees were fast, they could almost match her speed in a dive and they were definitely more maneuverable. For a moment Norm vanished above her, masked by the clouds and she scanned around for any sign of him, the instruments being rather useless here in the flux. As if to piss her off, he suddenly emerged almost directly in front of her and she pulled the stick back rapidly to avoid colliding.

"Norm, you asshole." She cursed. But she was smiling. The bastard did that on purpose. Fucking show off, she thought.

"...RDA extrasolar colony 01... repeat this is _Capital Star _on final approach to Pandora orbit. Please respond..." All the blood drained from her face. Suddenly forgetting the fun, she froze, hovering in the air as she checked the radio. Had she heard that right? Was this some kind of sick joke?

"...Say again?" She asked, hoping this was some kind of prank by the science team.

"This is ISV _Capital Star _on final approach to Pandora orbit. We are aware of your... situation. You will surrender RDA Company property upon shuttle landing, pending formal charges."

"Jake, you getting this?" She switched frequencies. The radio tabs were short range, but depending on how close _Capital Star _was, it might register.

"Getting what?" Came the cautious reply.

"Guess not. Well..." She didn't know where to begin, exactly. They all knew a ship would show up sooner or later, but even the Company schedule didn't figure on another resupply ship for at least another three years. And there was no way a ship could have been launched from Earth in response, the radio message hadn't even reached Earth yet and _Venture Star _still had years left on her journey home, even with time dilation (God, that physics stuff made her head hurt)_._ Corporate must have stepped up the resupply missions or had something special planned with this run. Either way, it was going to be a very bad day.

"The Company is back," she said simply. "Fuck, I was just starting to like this place."


	5. Chapter 5

Jake had never wanted to return here. Home was the forest now, not this shell of metal and machines, it just didn't feel right. Of course the fact that the colony had been designed for humans, not Na'vi or Avatars, made it all the more annoying. Everywhere he walked required him to hunch down and the strain of it was physically painful. Norm could paste whatever name he liked over top of the old, but to Jake this was still Hell's Gate, a painful reminder of what he had been and where he came from.

Neytiri's hand found his as they entered the Ops center, comforting her mate, trying to banish away the unease. It was obvious that part of her didn't want to be anywhere near this place either, but where her mate went, she would follow. Jake knew better to even try talking her out of it. The faces of the Chosen registered shock at the sight of the now legendary leader. It was a name that was beginning to take root among the Na'vi. There were Sky People, and then there were _Chosen _Sky People. While the former were a great plague to be feared, the latter were honored allies. There was still distrust, of course, but things had been improving, at least until this Company trash showed up in high orbit.

"...RDA extrasolar colony 01... Respond or we will assume your intentions are hostile..." The radio blared. A pair of former mercenaries looked warily at each other, their expressions filled with fear. Not everyone had been so enthusiastic about slaughtering the indigenous population, and those who had objected would face all kinds of trouble on Earth, assuming the RDA just didn't have them conveniently murdered. For them, any trip back 'home' would likely be a fatal one.

"Sir?" Trudy took over the com station, acknowledging the curious state of affairs which had developed since _Venture Star_ had bailed out of the system, tails tucked firmly between their legs. Jake was _olo'eyktan _among the Omaticaya, but also the elected leader of Hope Station, even though he took no part in the station's operation. Trudy had insisted on that stipulation, and the Na'vi had been pleased to know that he could order the Chosen around. It made them feel more at ease with the continued presence of some Sky People.

"Put me on." Jake said simply as Trudy nodded. "_Capital Star, _we have a signed treaty with the Company releasing all equipment and property to the Na'vi. You are violating it." English caught in his throat, it was almost unnatural to speak so much of it now.

"Who am I speaking to?" Came the reply. Neytiri caught that particular bit, fear creeping up inside her. Too much had already happened, she did not want more Sky People coming down, trying to kill her life mate. Jake was a natural target for them, and she knew it.

"You first." Jake replied icily.

Seconds dragged on as the enemy human considered what to say. As she waited, Neytiri's eyes took in the strange Sky People war-gathering-place around her, her curiosity overcoming her fear of the machines. Human symbols seemed to float in the air above them, lights shining everywhere without any hint of fire. She did not know what the symbols meant, but the Chosen operating them gleaned some kind of wisdom from them. Though their machines were ugly, monstrous things, these floating words were oddly beautiful, the colors of the forest at night. It was strange that the Sky People knew so much about these strange things, but couldn't even understand _life. _They had mastered the stars, the way of speaking through metal boxes and had enslaved fire to their will. Yet so few of them valued life, love or any true wisdom. It was amazing that they could be so powerful and so stupid at the same time.

"I am Chief Administrative Officer Matthew Carlson, I have full powers of _legitimate _negotiation on behalf of the company, pending board review. Head Administrator Parker Selfridge was not authorized to sign treaties or dispense of company property without prior approval, so his terms are null and void. Now, identify yourself." The executive up there certainly had testicular fortitude. The entire military might of RDA had been wiped out and whatever supplies and manpower _Capital Star _might be carrying, it certainly wasn't enough to drive the Na'vi and the Chosen out of Hope Station.

"I'm Jake Sully." He replied simply. There was a delay on the other end as the bureaucrat tried to process that particular bit of information. Obviously _Venture Star _had made contact with the inbound _Capital Star,_ conveying all the information they had on the war and exile, so this guy had to recognize that particular name.

"Jake Sully, you and your associates are hereby terminated from all company employment, pending formal charges of desertion, destruction of property and murder. The Company will prosecute." Jake just laughed at the miserable bureaucrat's reply.

"Are you serious?" Jake answered as Trudy chuckled.

"Corporate pukes, always so bright," said the pilot, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Don't know their heads from a zero-g toilet tube."

"These are serious charges. Of course we are willing to be reasonable... Plea bargains will be accepted and your native monkeys will be spared, providing you cooperate with our inbound shuttle." The reply unnerved Jake somewhat. Corporate was often pretty stupid, but he couldn't excise the sudden thought that they must have something up their sleeves. Executives weren't _that_ out of tune with reality.

"And if we refuse and fire on your shuttle?" Jake was tired of dealing with these idiots. He didn't want to kill anyone else, he had far too much blood on his hands already, but he wouldn't hesitate to eliminate the threat to his People, if he must.

"Then we will destroy the Omaticaya clan." Neytiri definitely caught that, her breath catching in her throat. Sky People in the stars had never been able to threaten her people, they had to use their flying machines to do that. Could the star-ships Jake spoke of be carrying enough flying machines?

"Can they do as they say?" She asked.

"Hell no." Trudy answered, but Jake wasn't so sure. There was a certain boldness about this guy, if he was bluffing, he was doing an amazing job of it.

"I take your silence as a refusal. We will demonstrate for your benefit." Moments passed before the skies seemed to be torn asunder, thunder cracking everywhere as blue lightning lanced from above, disintegrating the treeline at the edge of the base. Fires burned out of control everywhere as soil and smoke flew upwards into the sky. Neytiri's ears flattened in anger as she suppressed the urge to hiss at the devastating weapon. Sky People were so indiscriminate in their killing, they cared nothing for Eywa, for the forest or anything other than the floating rocks. Their hunger for the floating rocks was greater than that of an angry _palulukan'_s hunger for flesh.

"Holy shit, that was a rail gun shell!" Trudy cursed. Amazement mixed with horror as the realization dawned on her. "That shit is supposed to be illegal."

"At least we know why the trip wasn't on the official schedule." Jake answered. RDA executives had always longed to skirt the restrictions the commerce authority put on military power in space. A rail gun emplacement would have given Hell's Gate the ability to smash Na'vi homes hundreds of miles away without having to risk valuable equipment. However, the weapons were banned in space by Earth treaties. How they managed to sneak one on board _Capital Star _without the ICA noticing didn't really matter now. Somehow, they'd done it and found a way to fire the weapon from orbit. Such power gave them the ability to hit any part of the planet without risk to themselves. Jake's mind latched on to their miscalculation almost immediately, however.

"We got your message. Now you listen to ours. Your ship needs fuel and can't return to Earth without OUR help, and if you fire that thing again we will blow our hydrogen tanks and refinery. Harm so much as one blade of grass and you'll be stranded here. And sooner or later, you'll have to face us." Jake said acidly. The voyage form Earth consumed so much fuel that the company starships had to refuel in orbit over Pandora, using shuttles to gather hydrogen from the gas giant's atmosphere. That gas had to be purified at Hell's Gate and shipped into orbit again, or the starship would be permanently stranded. And with limited foodstuffs and atmosphere, sooner or later they would have to land for supplies. Na'vi warriors would be waiting for them, and they had to know it.

"It appears we have a standoff, then." The executive replied after several moments of silence.

"Yeah. Do not land your shuttle here. If your people land, we blow the tanks. Hell I might just do it for fun." Silence continued for a few moments. The corporate puke was probably deciding whether or not the threat was a bluff. Finally reason got the better of him.

"Fine. We will contact you in two days to arrange a meeting at a neutral site." That seemed to be an unusually long time, but Jake was relieved by it. As Neytiri was fond of saying, there was much to do. Through their wordless bond, he felt her fear fading away to something else. Pride emanated from her, it was her confidence in his ability as a warrior, as a leader and as a lover. She was absolutely certain they would defeat this new threat, together. If only he could say the same. But it was Trudy who truly captured the tactical situation.

"So, we got the tiger by the nut sack," said the pilot. "We're in for a fun ride."

* * *

Norm flew ever faster and his _ikran_ seemed satisfied with the arrangement, the beast's pleasure at gliding through the clouds transferring through the bond. His thoughts were more chaotic, however. Jake had sent him home to the new _kelutrel, _to warn the others of the Company's return. Fear for the People burned in his mind, anger rising up within him. This _kelutrel _wasn't _the_ Hometree but the Omaticaya were adapting to it slowly and Norm, at least, thought of it as home. The place had to be protected from this Company garbage in orbit far above. Sudden realization overtook him; this body was how he was meant to live, he was going home to his People. He still hadn't gone through the ceremony, but his _ikran_ would be all the proof the others would need to know him as a man, as a hunter.

Air and leaves stirred around him as the _ikran _landed, gripping the tree branch with tremendous strength. For a moment, Norm fumbled with his queue before getting his bearings again, clambering down through the tree's alcoves. All around him, Na'vi stirred from their homes in the great tree, sensing something wrong. Ni'nat was the first to approach him, her eyes lingering on him as the others gathered around. Norm was all to familiar with that look, he had received it from a few of the unattached females in the clan. He was available, now that he had passed the trial, and they would be hunting him. Part of him was amused by the reaction, he had never been good with women of any species. However it was a thing to dread at the same time. How did you choose someone to mate with for _life_? It was a thought for another time. As the assembled Na'vi gathered, whispering to each other about the commotion, Norm cleared his throat.

"Brothers and sisters," he began. "Jakesully has sent me to warn you. Sky People have returned, and he rides to discover what they want."

"More Sky People? Will they fight?"

"I do not know." Norm answered. His Na'vi still had a bit of a formality to it, but such a manner of speaking suited him well for speaking to the group. "The Chosen will stand by their brothers of the Omaticaya, no matter what happens."

The group agreed, this was a good thing. They had shed blood together in the final battle, and no one questioned their willingness to fight. Some were even rather fond of the Chosen flyer, the one called Troo'dee. Norm himself was something of an oddity for them, for all saw him as a Na'vi, and soon to be a true Omaticaya. Yet he was still among the Chosen, still a dreamwalker. Most had simply decided not to think about it, it was easier that way.

"Does Jakesully command us to war?" One of the hunters asked. It was Pey'lal, another of the single females who had an eye for him. It was beginning to make him nervous.

"No. We must prepare, move those who cannot fight to a safe place. Jakesully says this must be obeyed." Norm said solemnly. It was a great thing to ask of them, to send away most of the clan when they had only so recently found a new home. However no one questioned it, Jakesully knew what he was doing, and they would trust him. They dispersed quickly, going about their varied tasks. Hunters began stockpiling arrows, children and old-ones gathered food and supplies for the journey. Ninat glared briefly at Pe'lal as the other huntress reached for the same quiver of arrows. But their disagreement was not over the weapons, and Norm knew it. Their rivalry was an old one, and there had been some mention of their interest in Jake before his mating with Neytiri. Well at least this would be interesting, he thought wryly before his mind took a darker turn.

Whatever was happening at Hope Station, it couldn't be good. Jake had been gone some time already and some small part of the scientist knew the Na'vi just didn't have it in them to go through that kind of a meat-grinder again. They would try, because they were a courageous people, but so many had died, they were so few now. All the more reason, he supposed, that the two jealous females were so interested in securing him for themselves. Soon he would sleep, waking back up in his other body. How strange it was to think of his human for as the _other. _Yet he couldn't help it, Pandora had smitten him, captured him with its spell. All of his life he had studied this world, prepared for his role as an Avatar driver, but nothing on paper or holo-band could come close to the reality of it. He knew the moment he set foot on Pandora that he would never leave it...


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews. I appreciate the positive feedback, it's nice to know the story is being enjoyed by so many. And I thank those who have offered me new ideas and constructive criticism as well. You keep me in line. So keep reading and reviewing. Thanks again!_

Neytiri had never wanted any of this, all her heart had ever desired was the simple life of the forest, the connection with Eywa she felt in deep within her soul. She was born to be Tsahik and this dream had driven her from her very first days. Sky People had turned her world upside down, first with the school, then with the machines and finally with Jake himself. Much was good, much was evil and some she couldn't even live without anymore. Her mate had been like a baby, this was true, but he had a certain fearlessness then which was with him even now. Many times, as they lay together at night, he would tell her how he never truly lived until coming to this place, becoming one of the People. Truth was that she had never truly lived either, always so focused on her bond with Eywa that she almost let life slip her by.

"I see you, my Neytiri," came Jake's whisper as they curled together in the old avatar barracks near the old Sky People home. It had been some trouble to convince him to rest for at least a little while. With new Sky People to contend with, he had wanted to remain awake should they attack, but a warrior who was not rested was useless in battle. She was certain of that much. The Chosen would keep watch for the enemy. She could not deny the fierceness or bravery of the Chosen warriors, like the huntress Troo-dee. She would put her faith in them.

"And I see you." The words could mean so many things, depending on how they were said, but they both knew what it meant to them. "Goodnight, my Jake." She said in the Sky People tongue.

Eywa, of course, had decided that things would be different. Jake was the chosen of Eywa and it had taken her so long to understand why. A smile crossed her features as she remembered that first night together. It already seemed like so long ago, but the memory was fresh in her heart. After the bond, after the great battles in the sky, she felt him within her more each day. Somehow, despite the death and destruction that had followed him in his sad life, Jake had kept some small part of his innocence, just a tiny mote of childish wonder. Neytiri loved that about him and was fiercely protective over it.

Pain came as she remembered the moment she had screamed at him, rejecting him out of sorrow and anger for the loss of Hometree, for the loss of her father. Even then a small part of her had known he was helpless to stop the torrent and had worked against it as long as he had been able. Now, nothing could break her trust, her love. These new Sky People would not harm him, they would not break him or play games with his mind. Memory stirred again, unbidden, taking her back to that horror-filled moment when the evil human held Jake's body up, prepared to slash his throat. Had her aim been less true, had she hesitated but an eye blink, her Jake would be gone. Had the alarms of the metal box not caught her attention, had she not seen his frail human body reaching for the mask, she would be alone again. Such a thing could never be allowed to come to pass again.

So she tolerated the offensiveness of the metal machines, the oily stench of this place, like ashes in a fire. Everything within her told her to escape this unnatural construct, but for her life mate she would stay, and she would fight, whenever this cowardly enemy decided to show themselves. At least the old Avatar barracks was open to the wind and air, at least she could still hear the forest, just beyond the walls of this place. More importantly, at least her mate lay with her, gently falling off to sleep, far more accepting of such surroundings than she.

* * *

_Capital Star_ was running on minimal power, all non-critical systems shutdown, in order to keep the railgun hot. The weapon consumed a ridiculous amount of energy, and no one had intended for the thing to be mounted on a starship running on fumes. Lights were dimmed, casting shadows all over the command deck, giving it an almost ghostly feel. Many of the monitors and system displays were shutoff, except the few monitoring the heat signatures around the Na'vi encampments and Hell's Gate. Three men stood clustered around the operations console, the weak artificial gravity making even sitting down rather difficult. Chief Administrative Officer Matthew Carlson frowned as he studied a map of the RDA refinery complex on Pandora. Everything hinged on that, no different from the axis upon which the command module spun.

"We have seventy-six soldiers at our disposal. That's not enough to even make a dent in the native numbers, much less take over an entrenched enemy at the colony site." said the SecOps Major, the highest ranking mercenary on board. Although standard-issue rifles, grenades and other such weapons were present, there was no heavier artillery available. Everything else was manufactured in-situ on Pandora, where possible. Excepting, of course, the railgun that had been smuggled off Earth. Firing from orbit, however, made it less precise than Major Andrew Edmund would have liked, reentry and atmospheric conditions throwing off the aim. Any strike too close to Hell's Gate would risk blowing the critical refinery.

"We need leverage on these people, something that will force their cooperation. We could threaten this Tree of Souls place. A few well-placed railgun rounds would do it." Carlson suggested, straightening his shipboard outfit as much as possible. Obviously the bureaucrat was rather uncomfortable without his expensive suits. Somehow that amused the Major, but he forced down the urge to laugh, concentrating on the problem at hand.

"No good, sir. The flux screws up our targeting data, and with all those floating mountains made out of unobtainium, there's a lot of EM bullshit going on down there, I'm not sure a shell would even penetrate that magnetic field. What about taking hostages?" Major Edmund suggested. The executive merely nodded in reply.

"Jesus, you people are insane." _Capital Star'_s captain added. Walter Dravis was an old company man and he had seen a lot of idiotic stunts in the past. But this hair-brained idea truly took the cake. "I'm sure we could bargain the rail gun for the fuel." The captain didn't care for the weapon in the first place, the things were truly dangerous, it was why they were banned. His engineers and Company scientists had figured out how to rig the weapon to fire off of a mount on the ship's spine, but if even one misfire occurred, it could split the ship in two. The thing made him very nervous and if they never fired it again, it would be too soon. "Do we really have to resort to kidnapping?"

"Dravis, If you want to get home, I suggest you cooperate. Think outside the box." Carlson warned. "You read Parker's report. This wasn't just a native attack, this was a revolt by company employees. We can't trust them. If I were you, I would be considering the best ways to prove _your _loyalty. Else the Company will be forced to suspend your compensation. That wouldn't be so good for your family back on Earth."

The executive wasn't in the mood for conversation with a starship driver. RDA paid the captain to fly space freighters and coordinate supply drops, not conduct battle plans or set company policy. Dravis had fought him every step of the way, from installing the rail gun to this combat drop, but ultimately the company signed the paychecks his family collected on Earth. Although it would take several years to reach Earth, such a termination would be retroactive to date of employment separation. They would be forced to pay back years of income or face litigation, it would be ruinous. Cooperation could be bought, with the right amount of currency and leverage.

"We drop a shuttle in with some of the mining explosives, like Parker tried with the Tree of Souls," the Major began. "But we attack the native camp, not Hell's Gate. We drop some of our men just outside the native encampment, then bombard the hell out of it with the mine explosives. That should cause enough distraction to get our men in. We go in, nab ourselves some hostages and get out with acceptable losses in men and equipment. Then we bail before any kind of response from Hell's Gate or the other natives." Major Edmund offered, drawing out the battle plan on the ship's ops monitor.

The Major knew the Pandoran predators and Na'vi warriors would take their toll on his force, but with any luck, they could achieve surprise and get out quickly with some prisoners. Dravis looked on with disgust. RDA paid a decent wage, and God knows his family needed the cash, but sometimes he questioned whether it was really worth it or not. Still, they needed him to run the ship and coordinate the atmospheric drops.

"They might blow the refinery the second they spot the dropship." The captain pointed out. "We're up shit creek if they do it."

"I'm guessing they won't. If they blow the refinery they use up their only deterrent against our rail gun. No, this Jake Sully will want to hold back doing that as long as possible." Carlson replied. "Besides, once we have hostages and show him the nature of our resolve, he'll have to cooperate."

"There's still a huge element of risk here. We need to move quickly." Major Edmund added. "And there's no guarantee hostages will work."

"It would be some leverage, at least. There's bonus money in this, if you can do it." Carlson's eye's narrowed. "Let us say, two years of full pay for each surviving man."

That was unusually generous by company standards, but Carlson knew that the motivation would help. If he could salvage the situation and send a message that would reach Earth before _Venture Star_, no one would be complaining about his appropriation of company funds. Of course, saving the entire corporation and its mining profits would work out to a nice bonus and promotion for him, too. The board might even elect him as the next company President. The only hitch was this Jake Sully and his band of natives and traitors. The executive knew the only way to move an unmovable object was with the right application of leverage. Hopefully, he would only have to torture and kill a few of the hostages before he bought cooperation from this traitor. After all, he had no wish to be any more cruel than was absolutely necessary.

"Get it done." He ordered simply.

* * *

Night had long since fallen as Norm awoke from the chamber. Everything was so quiet here, since the Company had left. Of course there was the night watch in the towers, doubled since the arrival of _Capital Star_, and there were controllers in the Ops center, but the rest of Hope Station might as well have been abandoned. His footsteps echoed in the silent base as he attended to basic survival needs. The scientist's body needed food, water and the other bare essentials. Aside from those things, there was no reason for him to be here anymore.

Algae-derived rations were terrible, but then they were all that was left in the food storage lockers. He winced as he chewed on the vile stuff, concentrating on the latest research results on his portable monitor. Pandoran tree samples had proven fertile in Earth-like soil and atmosphere, the results were encouraging. Further research was rather pointless, though. There simply wasn't any way to get the seeds back to Earth, unless one counted the Company assholes overhead. They would hardly be accommodating to such a scheme.

Trudy's update on the current situation flashed on his monitor, giving him the summary of earlier communication. So RDA had sent an unscheduled supply run with a smuggled railgun on board. Somehow, Norm was anything but surprised. The Company had been itching to deploy some heavier firepower on Pandora practically since first landing. Jake's wisdom in splitting the clan stood out now. _Capital Star _might have an idea of where the new Hometree was, if they had scanned the terrain well enough to pick out heat signatures, but now they had two targets to choose, from, possibly more if Jake ordered the tribe to scatter even more. RDA would be wasting expensive (and limited) rounds on smaller and smaller concentrations of Na'vi.

"I see you got the report." It was Trudy, grasping a flask of something most likely alcoholic. "Want a drink?"

"Yeah, sure. Got a terrible headache from all this switching." Norm replied, rubbing his temples. Maybe it was just disorientation from living in a body he didn't really care for anymore. Life among the Na'vi had changed everything about his outlook. He was happy among them. As a scientist, the pursuit of learning drove everything, and the connection Na'vi shared with Eywa was like an endless reservoir of knowledge. For Norm, it was rather like a drug. But if that were the case, these headaches were definitely the withdrawal symptoms.

"Some rum should help that. Found it stashed in Parker's office. Top-quality shit." Trudy took a pull, passing the flask over.

"Gah..." Norm barely forced the burning liquid down. Whatever kind of rum this was, it was very strong.

"Come on, you'll get the hang of it." She offered. "So what's the trouble?"

"You mean besides those maniacs with a railgun floating around up there?" He gestured to the ceiling.

"Well if they come down here, I'll make 'em have a real bad day. But yeah, besides that." Somehow, Norm believed her. Trudy just wasn't someone you wanted as an enemy.

"This switching back and forth really messes with your head. It's hard to know which is supposed to be real." The scientist answered. "Besides, now that I passed the trial, there are... complications."

"You mean finding a good lay?" Trudy's lip curved upward in a half-smile. She was truly enjoying this conversation at his expense, Norm thought.

"Something like that." He replied.

"Jake managed to pull it off. So what's wrong? No one interested?" Trudy teased.

"Quite the opposite. There are too many," said Norm. For her part, Trudy burst out into laughter.

"You mean to tell me, you got bitches chasing you all over, and you're complaining about it?" She asked sarcastically, pushing the flask over to him again.

"Yeah, pretty stupid, huh?" Norm answered, taking the offered flask for another pull. This time he managed to get it down without coughing, but the burning in his throat would take some getting used to.

"Yep, pretty stupid. You better get back there and figure this shit out." Trudy demanded. "Nice drinking with you." The flask disappeared in her jacket as she marched away, chuckling to herself. Norm didn't find it funny at all.

Hopefully a couple drinks wouldn't affect the link any, but Norm was already tired of this place anyway. As he activated the timer for the psionic-link and closed the lid, his mind considered Trudy's advice. Maybe he should just run with it, after all it worked out well enough for Jake and Neytiri. That all supposed, however, that this ship full of Company assholes didn't stir up any more trouble. Norm certainly wasn't interested in taking _that_ particular bet.


	7. Chapter 7

Light rain drizzled from the sky, a haze of cloud cover reaching for the top of the new Hometree, like a smothering blanket. Sounds of the forest echoed everywhere, the chirps of far-off _ikran,_ the relentless pounding of _angtsìks _in the heat of mating rituals. Raindrops pooled on the leaves of Hometree, dripping from the treetops in steady rhythm, almost like drum beat. This was life as it _should _be, this was life as no ear on Earth had heard for decades.

Norm sat alone, not bothering to shield himself from the raindrops, his legs dangling over the edge of the branch. The scientist wasn't a particularly broody individual, but today was different. Whether his human brain still lingered under the affects of a bit too much to drink the night before, or whether he truly was this indecisive, he didn't know. Trudy's words had bothered him. He lived for science, for knowledge, and he had never truly considered having a _life._ Quite frankly, he didn't know what do with it.

"Why do you shy away from the People." A soft female voice asked in the Na'vi tongue. For a moment, Norm couldn't decide where it was coming from. A few moments passed by before a finger touched lightly upon his shoulder. The surprising touch nearly made him jump off his perch. Somehow she had reached up from below him and climbed to his side without him noticing.

"Eywa! Don't do that." He yelled. It was Pey'lal, the lone huntress. Apparently she enjoyed stalking her _prey_, even when searching for a mate. Her abilities to meld in with the forest were legendary among the Omaticaya, there was no one else more stealthy.

"I am sorry. But you are a warrior now. You must expect attack at any time." She chastised. Pey'lal was considered rather plain by Na'vi standards of beauty, but she had a natural grace about her every move. Obviously the huntress was very much in tune with her body and the forest surrounding it. Besides, what was considered plain by the Na'vi was a very different matter for one with a human mind. She was taller than most, extremely slender, yet well defined. In a human woman, such traits were quite desirable indeed and Norm acknowledged her as nothing less than stunning. What the huntress saw in him, he couldn't fathom.

"Yes, I suppose I should. Is there anyone else who could have done that, though?" Norm pointed out.

"Probably not." The huntress boasted, smiling gently. "Yet you do not answer my question."

"There is much on my mind." Norm answered cautiously. It wouldn't do well to discuss ignorance of women of all species with one who seemed interested in him, after all.

"That I can see. What is it that troubles you?" Pey'lal asked patiently. "Is it the selection of a life mate?"

Norm coughed and nearly fell off his perch again. Na'vi spoke very openly about selecting a life mate, declaring whom they wished for or selected very plainly, even if speaking about the actual act of mating was highly taboo. Human values seemed to be more or less reversed. One could discuss sexual exploits all day in the right company, but dating? What a mess that was.

"Uh, yes. I was of the Sky People once, and Sky People are not so... open about selecting a mate." Norm tried to overcome the embarrassment, but the tiny spots on his face lit up with the awkwardness of the situation. It was almost impossible to hold back what you truly felt with spots that lit up with certain emotions, and ears that swiveled and flattened almost against your will. Perhaps this is why Na'vi were open about their emotions, they had no choice but to put them on display.

"Sky People are not honest about many things. But I see not all are this way." Pey'lal seemed to inch closer to him, though he could not be certain of it. Unless he was watching her, it was almost impossible to detect her movements.

"Yes, not all are like that. Still, it is difficult to learn." Norm replied simply.

"I can see that. Maybe I can make it less difficult for you." Pey'lal offered as Norm looked on suspiciously. That almost sounded like a proposition, was this how Na'vi flirted with one another?

"What do you mean?"

"There are two in the clan who would select you. If you also wanted to select one of them, then there would be no more troubled thoughts, right?" Pey'lal explained.

"You make it sound so easy." Norm laughed.

"You make it harder than it needs to be." Pey'lal continued. "Ni'nat finds you attractive. I think she has a liking for the dreamwalkers, as they are usually very attractive. She would make an excellent mate, she is well beloved by The People." Something in her voice gave away the fact that not _everyone_ considered her well beloved. But then Pey'lal was always a bit of an outsider in the clan.

"And you?" Norm asked, emboldened slightly. If she was going to be direct, he could be too.

"I like to be alone often, like this. So do you. It is a good match." Pey'lal said simply, but Norm caught the slight flutter of her spots, the perking of her ears. There's more to it than that,he thought. Nonetheless, her simplistic, logical reasoning appealed to him somehow. He wasn't even close to being convinced, but it gave him something to ponder.

"You know what I am, right?" Norm asked carefully. Pey'lal's hand touched his shoulder gently in acceptance, letting her hand linger perhaps just a moment longer than she should have.

"A man of two worlds. Maybe to some, this is bad. But Omaticaya are your true people, this is your true home. I feel that..." Pey'lal paused for a moment, her ears shifting about in sudden alarm, trying to catch some distant sound. "Something is coming."

"What?" But soon Norm heard it too, it was a sound he was all too familiar with. A dropship was incoming, the whine of its turbines was a sound he could never mistake. "Sky People!" He screamed, loud enough for the others to hear.

* * *

Light filtered through the gates of the avatar barracks, shimmering rays of warmth streaming down on his face. Morning glow was rarely so intense in the forest, with a canopy of trees and plants everywhere, but here in the avatar barracks, there was little to block such light. Jake stretched in a purely human gesture, something he would never quite get rid of, as Neytiri came too. Some of the remaining avatar drivers were already up and about, collecting supplies and preparing for a conflict Jake hoped would never come.

It wasn't that he was afraid of going into battle again, rather, he was just so tired of it all. He had enough slaughter for one lifetime, and just hoped these maniacs in orbit could agree to give up the rail gun, refuel, and go home so that he too could return home. The bureaucrat in charge up there obviously had different plans, though. Neytiri's eyes fluttered open and he smiled warmly, a certain euphoria tracing up his spine instinctively at the sight of her. Part of him still questioned what he had done to deserve coming here, seeing all of this, being with her. Tom was the one who was supposed to be here, and only through the most horrible quirks of fate imaginable, had it been him. What would life have been like if he never came here? The thoughts were disturbing, and his mate detected the unease.

"Do not do that to yourself." Neytiri warned. It was one bone of contention in their growing relationship, this tendency to question his worthiness for everything that had been bestowed upon him. As far as Neytiri was concerned, Eywa had chosen him, case closed, end of story. But for Jake, there was still much more to think about.

"My brother should have been here."

"Perhaps he should have been here too. But you were _meant_ to be here." Neytiri replied, reaching for his hand.

"Right." Jake replied, unconvinced, following some of the scientist avatars heading into the base. As they entered Ops, Trudy was standing over the holographic projector, tracking something that obviously disturbed her.

"That had to be a reentry trace. Come on people, lets figure this shit out."

"What's going on?" Jake asked warily.

"One of our satellites went dead unexpectedly about a minute ago. Right before it went offline, I saw what looked like a reentry." Trudy continued. "Wouldn't have seen if it I wasn't in the right place at the right time. I think these sons'a'bitches are up to something. We're mapping course and speed to get a fix on where they might be headed."

"You think they took out the satellite with the railgun?" Jake asked, confirming the obvious.

"I'd say that's a fair guess. Hmm.. course and speed will take the bastards directly over your new Hometree. They launched the attack at dawn, local time. I can't see how they could take Hometree though, they can't be packing enough manpower and equipment to take and hold."

"Launch everything we have for Hometree," said Jake. "And someone raise these morons on radio."

"I will warn our people." Neytiri added in English. Concern for the People was plain on her face, her ears flattening with anger, her mouth twisting in a frown. For a moment, Jake seemed to consider talking her out of it, but she was in one of those moods, like the moment she considered attacking an entire battalion of foot soldiers with three arrows. Any decent leader had to choose which battles he fought, and Jake had no intention of fighting her on this.

"Be careful, my Neytiri." Jake said in Na'vi, tracing the contours of her face for a brief moment. Then she was gone, sprinting for her _ikran _which was already descending from the heavens_._

"These assholes are mine. Max, you take over." Trudy replied as she hustled for her Samson. That made two women Jake had no interest in stopping.

"I have them on the line." Max answered, taking over for the angry pilot.

"_Capital Star,_ we know what you're doing. Do I have to remind you what will happen if you go through with this?" Jake said angrily.

"Pandora has grown on me, I think I'd like to stay awhile." Came the reply. "You know what, go right ahead, blow the fuel, the refinery and everything."

"He has to be bluffing," Max offered, the scientist in him calculating every possible outcome. It was like a high-stakes poker game, with the entire planet on the table.

"You want to go home. Fine. We don't want you here either. So we have something in common. If you stop this stupidity and dismantle the rail gun, we will refuel you for the journey home." Jake offered.

"No deal. You will surrender the base intact, you will also surrender yourself and all company personnel who participated in your little mutiny." Carlson replied, no trace of emotion in his voice.

"You're a fool." Jake was pretty certain of that too. At least this executive had given away his true motive for this insanity. Carlson wanted the base back, he wanted to salvage the company's position on Pandora before word got back to Earth about what had happened here. Then RDA could just sweep everything under the rug and things would return to the way they had been. However the silence of the railgun implied that the executive was taking a calculated risk. If Carlson really didn't care about going home, he would have opened fire with the weapon already and simply annihilated the base from orbit. If he was pressed into a corner, however, he might just be insane enough to do it anyway.

"Max, I'm leaving. You're in command here. Try to evacuate as many people as possible to the forest. Use off-site containers where possible, and try to hide your heat signatures. Get the Avatars and pods out too." Jake didn't want to consider it, but should the base be annihilated and all the human supplies be destroyed, the avatar drivers might have some hope still, with Eywa.

"We only have two Samsons left. It will take some time."

"Better get to it, then. If that bastard up there shoots so much as one round, blow the whole refinery complex." Jake answered as he shut the hatch and stepped outside.

From above, his _ikran _descended from the skies, answering his call. It was time to leave this place and return to his true home. As he flew onward, ever-faster through the cloud-filled sky, worry flooded his awareness, fear for his mate, fear for his home. Once, he had nothing to lose but a life he didn't really want anymore. But now there was all too much to lose and so much he couldn't live without.

* * *

Fires burned everywhere around the great tree, a great cloud of smoke curling into the heavens as the Sky People advanced relentlessly, gunning down a pair of warriors who didn't find cover in time. Overhead, the great metal machine hovered, dropping explosive packs on the defenders, though so far few had penetrated the dense canopy of branches and tree limbs. That would change soon, Norm thought as he gripped the rifle he had stashed here in case of such an eventuality. Warriors danced around him, gripping their bows as they leaped higher into the tree, summoning _ikran, _preparing to attack from above.

Pey'lal was beside him, silently tracking a lone soldier with her bow, every move fluid and steady. The arrow flew outwards, impaling the man in the chest as his rifle flew upwards, sending a stream of bullets flying everywhere as he fell. Screams were everywhere, the cries of Omaticaya warriors as they joined the battle. The staccato of machine gun fire echoed through the forest in between the heavier, almost rhythmic pounding from the explosives dropped from above. Well, Norm thought darkly, it's time to add my own.

Norm was wrapped around the tree limb, hugging it with one arm as he raised the rifle with the other, choosing his targets carefully. A controlled burst dropped another mercenary and sent the rest scurrying for cover in the dense foliage. More followed behind them, however, and his position had been made. Bullets traced all around him, one grazing his cheek, another round shattering next to his hand. A hand reached for his, helping him escape the withering fire, pulling him upward into a natural alcove in the tree.

"You are brave. But you have much to learn still." Pey'lal chastised. As if to punctuate the statement, she leaned gracefully just outside of the alcove, found her target, and let loose another arrow. Even over the din of the growing battle and the man's exopack, Norm heard the painful scream. He was surprised how much the battle with Quaritch's troops had changed their methods. The Omaticaya were being devious, hiding in trees, alcoves and pits, ambushing the mercenaries one at a time. So far, the enemy had been held back very effectively.

Another mine explosive went off just above their hiding place, the noise deafening him, blowing splinters of wood everywhere, knocking both of them down. Norm fell through vines, leaves and branches, each impact a stinging pain, yet somehow he had maintained his grip on the rifle, rolling as he hit the dirt, bringing it to bear on a trooper whose gun was leveling at Pey'lal's form, still falling from above. The mercenary went down, dead before he touched the dirt, his torso shredded by the withering fire. Pey'lal hit the ground right after, blood pooling underneath her still form, her eyes wide in shock.

The former scientist reached for her, dragging her quickly to safety behind a series of trees, inspecting her wounds. A large splinter of wood was sticking out of her shoulder, bleeding profusely. Fortunately it was relatively straight, but he feared pulling it out, lest she bleed out.

"Take it out. There is healing paste in the shell on my belt. Put it in the wound, push hard." Pey'lal instructed, shutting out the pain. Norm reached for her belt, finding the shell with the healing paste inside. It was some kind of mixture with the local tree sap and it looked like it could seal the wound well enough.

"This is going to hurt..." Norm said unnecessarily as he reached for the splinter. Pey'lal didn't even seem to care. As he tore it loose, she winced in obvious pain, but managed to remain silent. The scientist worked the paste into the wound, trying to stop the relentless blood flow, filling the wound with the substance.

"I think you are enjoying this." Norm teased, trying to distract her from the obvious pain. The huntress smiled weakly in return. In the distance, he could hear the sound of rotors approaching and the cry of _ikran_ diving into battle. Help had arrived at last.

* * *

Neytiri dove into the fray heedless of her own safety, her _ikran _building up incredible speed. At the last possible moment, she leveled out, giving her a clear shot at the enemy massing below. Her arrow flew straight and true, eliminating one of the attackers. Bullets reached for her, but she was already ascending into the clouds again, vanishing where the Sky People could not track her. Thanking Eywa for the low clouds, she reached for another arrow, prepared to dive in again.

Trudy came in hot behind the Na'vi warrior, the rearmed Samson belching out several rounds from its forward guns, sending the force reeling into the trees, firing wildly. Bullets pinged off of the hull, some penetrating, but nothing vital was hit. It was then that she saw the drop shuttle, hovering just over Hometree, unloading mine explosives everywhere, tossing them out of the back like ancient depth charges. She didn't have anything like the firepower to bring down that monster, but the exposed cargo area was an open invitation. Veering around the unarmed shuttle, she brought her nose square with cargo area, lighting up the mercenaries inside.

"Fuckers gotta pay." She whooped. Some part of her was enjoying this. Sitting around in Ops just wasn't where she was supposed to be. It was true that she was the only one qualified to run it anymore, but that didn't mean she had to like it. This was where she truly belonged, in the cockpit, sticking it to the fucking man.

"What's the situation." Jake asked over the radio tab as he made his way into the battle.

"Ground force is behind the treeline, they're pinned up nice and tight. I took out the shuttle's bomb-chuckers, it's been effectively disarmed." Trudy reported simply.

Jake wasted no time as he reached the fight, diving into the ground force, his _ikran _reaching for a mercenary who was just a second too slow reaching the treeline. The man screamed in agony as the _ikran_ clawed into him, tearing in his exposed flesh, lifting him above the trees and dropping him to an uncertain fate, arms flailing about in pain and denial.

"Enemy commander, cease your attacks. We are willing to discuss terms." Trudy's radio blared.

"Yeah, the only thing you're gonna get is a nice fucking hole in the ground." She replied angrily, twisting the Samson around. If this jackass thought he was just going to walk away from this attack, he had another thing coming.

"Unfortunate. If you do that, our prisoners will have to die," came the reply.


	8. Chapter 8

Blood dripped from his wounded arm, soaking the padding between flesh and body armor, mixing with dirt and grime. Sweat was everywhere, so much that it almost threatened the integrity of his exopack seal, the mask feeling wet against his face. Major Edmund had never expected such fearsome resistance from the natives. He had foolishly believed the reports that the majority of the damage had come from company defectors. The plan had been to hit the enemy where they were weakest, not where they were strongest. _Goddamnit that asshole Parker falsified his reports to cover the fact that his ass was handed to him by a bunch of tribal voodoo wogs, _he thought angrily. But he could not deny that those very same wogs had handed him his own backside on a platter.

Still, the mission wasn't a complete bust just yet. The initial attack had claimed a few of the natives and his men had managed to hold a perimeter around a pair of wounded blue skins. One of the wogs looked important, covered in red beads and bony necklaces. The Major supposed that was what passed for serious style in this neighborhood. The surrendered dropship was landing, unable to defend itself from the threat of the Samson hovering nearby or the lizard riding wogs just overhead. There wasn't any easy escape from this cluster-fuck, he'd just have to talk his way out.

"Look, I got this blue bitch covered in red and this other one, I think it's a male. You make a move, I put a bullet in their primitive-wog brains. Got it?" He screamed into the walkie. Torture wasn't really his thing, that was Carlson's deparment. The executive was obviously some kind of sadist, but it didn't matter now. This was about survival.

"You harm them and you will die. Slowly. Maybe you go into a spinning rotor, one inch at a time, huh?" It was the female pilot again and the Major truly wished he could make a deal with someone slightly more reasonable. Whoever this bitch was, she was definitely in earnest.

"Here's the deal. You give us our pilots back and let our shuttle drop us a line, we leave the male behind and take the female with us as security." He offered.

"How about you give up, and I put a bullet in your brain instead of killing you slow." Trudy replied as the drop shuttle landed, spewing a pair of unarmed pilots, arms raised in surrender.

Mo'at was out there, hurt and afraid, not for herself but for all Omaticaya. Neytiri knew the truth of it, she could almost feel her mother's suffering, and it drove her mad. Out there, insane Sky People clustered around their prisoners, dishonorable wretches whose greed had scarred the surface of her world, whose insanity had killed her father, whose senseless violence came so close to ripping her life mate from her. Now they threatened her mother with pain, torture, things her Na'vi mind could barely even imagine. To think that someone could deliberately seek to cause pain to another living thing was so unnatural that there wasn't even a true word for it in her language.

Beneath her, the riders of the great flying machine walked out, hands held over their heads in the Sky People gesture of surrender. They were cowardly creatures, unable to face death bravely, as true warriors. Wings stirred as she felt the heartbeat of her _ikran,_ the predatory instinct was there, untamed wild surging just behind the bond that tied them together. For a moment, she let it surge through her mount again, letting him decide exactly what he wanted to do with the weak humans below.

"Neytiri, No! Don't do it! We need them alive!" Jake screamed into the radio tab, hoping she would listen, praying to Eywa that he could reach her now. For a moment it looked as if she would do it anyway, eviscerating the men with her _ikran'_s claws. At the last possible moment, she sailed over their heads, razor-sharp claws only a finger's-length from their shocked faces. The huntress slowed, landing her _ikran, _marching towards the men, forcing a smile upon her face. If her Jake wished for these Sky People to talk, they would be ready to do so now.

Her mate reached for her deep _within,_ his comforting love echoing in her heart_._ Calm came over her in that moment, washing over her like water quenching the flames. Her mate was with her, their powerful bond like whisper in her ear, restoring her balance. Breath came out in heavy, ragged gasps as she struggled between rage and fear. Mo'at was hurt, perhaps even dying, and these _demons_ were threatening to hurt her more. Yet she could feel Jake's certainty that all would be well, that the devious Sky People leader could be beaten.

For their part, the two pilots crouched down, hands over their heads. The young co-pilot stank of sweat and urine, shaking with barely controlled terror. The older pilot just watched dispassionately, as if nothing really mattered to him anymore. Jake certainly knew which one to speak to.

"You. What's your name?" He asked the older man.

"I'm Walter Dravis, Captain of the _Capital Star._" He answered simply, resigned to his fate. If he was going to die here, it was not entirely undeserved. He had taken RDA's money, he had attached himself to a corrupt quasi-government for the sake of cash. No matter how pure his motives, no matter how desperately his family needed the money to survive, this just wasn't worth it anymore. If he were able, he'd take that railgun, shove it straight up Carlson's ass and blow both of them out of an airlock.

"What are you doing down here?" Jake asked, surprised.

"I'm the best pilot." He answered simply. "Look, I'm sick of this bullshit. I just want to get my crew home." His finger pointed towards the sky.

"Begging?" Jake asked as Neytiri stared at the pair with the fearsome gaze of a _nantang _on the prowl. _She's doing that on purpose,_ Jake admired. Every now and then Neytiri still surprised him, knowing just how to handle almost every situation. The co-pilot couldn't even look at her, sobbing as he curled into a ball, nearly catatonic with fear. Jake could think of no better motivation for these men than his mate's piercing glare.

"Nah, kill me if you like. I've lived long enough, I guess." Dravis sighed, mentally preparing himself for his end. "But before you do that, maybe I can help put a stop to this thing."

"I'm listening." Jake replied, his curiosity piqued.

* * *

"We agree to your terms. Your shuttle has been returned to your surviving pilot." Jake said.

"Surviving pilot?" The voice demanded.

"Yeah, there's not much left of the co-pilot." Strictly speaking that was true, the co-pilot was a shivering ball of catatonic flesh, still trying to calm himself from his near-death experience. He wasn't going to be flying anything at this juncture. Obviously that man was a civilian and had never been expecting to do a combat drop.

"You're just gonna let these fuckheads live?" Trudy demanded. "This is bullshit."

"I love you too, Chica." Edmund taunted. "We accept." The Major answered as the female pilot let loose with a steady stream of vitriol. He switched to a coded frequency, suspicious of how easily the enemy commander had caved in. "Walter, you in there?" It had been prearranged before the drop, if anyone were under duress, they would broadcast in the clear, otherwise they would use a specially designated frequency.

"Yeah, I'm here. Make it quick, okay? This is all kinds of fucked up." The captain replied nervously. His Valkyrie angled around, spinning as it set down in a clearing near the treeline. It took five men to drag the unconscious female's body up the ramp. The rest of the team jogged forward, the Major taking up the lead, his rifle swiveling, half expecting a native horde to pop out of some alcove. Mercenaries scrambled up hastily, some carrying the wounded in, others reaching for chains to secure the prisoner.

Relief came over the Major as he reached inside the mask for a moment, wiping the blood and sweat from within. No one was lurking within the shuttle, no native wogs were preparing to ambush him. For the first moment since the insertion had gone fubar, he actually felt like he might live through this. Pushing the door open with his rifle, he entered the cockpit warily, alert for any sign of a stowaway. But there was only the pilot in his blood-stained uniform and HUD helmet, working the hatchway controls. _Never again,_ he told himself as he shut the hatch, _I don't care how much fucking cash they're tossing around._

Click. It was a sound no soldier could mistake. It was the sound of failure, of imminent death waiting behind his skull. There was a terrible laugh, a female voice full of joy at this terrible moment between life and the devil.

"Drop it, bitch." Trudy commanded.

"What the fuck?" The Major demanded, the rifle inching upwards as he turned. He never got the chance to finish, confusion and shock filling his mind in that last millisecond before he could think no more. Without a moment's hesitation, Trudy pulled the trigger and SecOps Major Andrew Edmund fell to the floor, the hole in his skull still smoking as it impacted against the metal deck.

"Too bad." Trudy whispered to herself as she unscrewed the silencer from her pistol.

"Sir, the prisoner is secured, we got her chained down solid." The intercom buzzed. And with that hanging in the air, Trudy grabbed the stick and punched the throttle, angling the Valkyrie's nose high in the air, letting all the unsecured contents and men tumble backwards into the clearing. Omaticaya warriors were waiting for them. A few wisely gave up. Most didn't.

* * *

Norm reached for her good arm, helping her to her feet despite the blood loss she had suffered. Admiration for this seemingly fearless hunter flowed through him, and for just a moment he felt the tiniest spark of what Pey'lal spoke of. There was nothing to compare it to in strictly human terms, but it was there nonetheless, like his avatar body instinctively knew when a compatible female was near. He felt it like a strong hunch, as if Eywa were in his ear, whispering _"yes, you would get along with this one." _

Seconds passed by and the tiny spark faded away again, such that Norm wasn't entirely certain he hadn't just imagined it. _Damnit, you don't even know her!_ Yet that was not true. They were both Omaticaya, they had hunted together, they had danced together and fought together. In fact, as he thought about it, Pey'lal had been hanging around his shadow for some time now. The huntress smiled slightly, seemingly enjoying his discomfort for a moment before admiring his skill in treating her wound.

"This is very good. You have a healer's hands." Pey'lal pointed out. "And yet you are a warrior too."

"Maybe. Among the Sky People I was a _scientist,_ a seeker of knowledge." The Na'vi language had no word that precisely fit the definition of scientist, but most of the tribe knew that word well enough.

"Everyone is a seeker of knowledge. Or they are a fool." Pey'lal replied, wincing slightly as she walked, trying to keep her wounded side still. "Maybe you were only a _sy-en-teest _because it would bring you here."

Strangely, the huntress had hit the nail on the head with that comment. Oh, he certainly enjoyed science, but his true passion had always been Pandora. Ever since reading about the planet's discovery, he wanted to see it for himself, to experience a new world with his own eyes. He wanted to learn its mysteries, to see something fresh and unspoiled. To him, science had been the means, not the end. The end was all around him, here in the forest he had fought to protect, here in this world he had once only dreamed of. In that moment, a decision was made. He would join with this body, he would become a true part of this place he loved over all else. And no invaders from the stars would ever take it from him.

"Come. We must tend to those in need," said Pey'lal. "There will be many to help."

"Yes..." Norm shook his head sadly. There would be casualties among the People, friends, brothers, sisters. Anger welled up within him, the Na'vi had never done anything to deserve this plague of mercenaries and bureaucrats. Smoldering Earth didn't even deserve the things, much less this beautiful world.

* * *

Rage burned within Jake, more of his People were with Eywa now, sent to her before their time, asked to die to save their home from another cluster of armed morons. Jake was exhausted, not in body but in mind, unable to bear this senseless death. His heart felt like a boxer in the ring, battered again and again but always forced to stand up for another beating. Five of the finest hunters of the Omaticaya were dead. Many more were hurt, among them Neytiri's own mother, Mo'at. Some of them would not survive the night.

He sat alone by the fire with his thoughts, doubting his own ability to lead them any longer, it was just too much to keep asking them to lay their lives down for him. Jake Sully was not prone to tears, no ex-marine would be, but he felt them inside, even if his eyes only watered ever so slightly. These were his people, he had flown with them, hunted with them, presided over their Trials.

"My Jake..." Neytiri soothed, reaching for his hand, gently caressing his skin. Somehow, despite the worry she felt for her mother, she found time to comfort him. Sometimes he wondered just what he had done to deserve such a mate.

"Too much death. It's so meaningless." Jake whispered.

"Not meaningless. They are with Eywa, they went to her protecting their home, their clan. There can be no better way to leave this world." Neytiri replied, kissing his cheek, trying to banish the doubt and the pain she felt welling up within her lifemate. "You led your people to victory again."

Jake didn't reply, sitting motionless by the clan's fire as others gathered around, each as solemn as their leader. All looked to him for answers, so many lives depending on his decisions. _Why do people want power? It's just a kind of curse, _Jake thought somberly.

"Jake, the prisoner wants to speak with you." Norm announced as he approached the fire.

"Alright." Jake answered.

Dravis was led in by a pair of strong Na'vi warriors, his hands bound with sturdy vines, his exopack reflecting the fire-light, giving him a strangely demonic appearance. _Maybe that's why they call humans 'demons.' _Jake thought.

"What do you want?" Jake asked in English.

"I have a way we can both get what we want." The old captain said carefully.

"Go on." A part of Jake sympathized with the captain. Without his help convincing the SecOps leader that it was really Dravis in the cockpit, Trudy would never have been able to salvage the situation. Jake didn't trust him, not fully, but the man had proven himself loyal to his stated cause. He just wanted to get his ship's crew home and he had, essentially, written off the soldiers to achieve it. Such a Devil's bargain could not have been an easy decision to make.

"Carlson still has that railgun in orbit. He'll put two and two together, if he hasn't already, and figure this operation failed completely. I'm not sure what the crazy bastard will do with it. If he fires that thing, we're all fucked, him included." Dravis continued, his voice picking up an air of desperation.

"Then it looks like you'll be making a convenient 'escape' from your captors." Jake instructed. "With us on board, of course."

"I don't think he'll fall for that. He's insane, but not stupid." The captain answered.

"Probably not, but it just needs to buy us enough time to get outside of that railgun's firing arc. Are there any more SecOps people on board?"

"No. But Carlson will be armed. He's got some flunkies too. And firing anything inside a starship isn't exactly a bright idea in the first place. One shot through a bulkhead and everyone's fucked." Dravis shook his head distractedly. "God, I wish I never signed up for this. Good money, they say, plenty of pay for your family while you're in space. What a load of crap."

"They say that to everyone." Norm chimed in. Jake did a double-take, forgetting just for a moment all the anguish he felt for his people. Pey'lal was sitting next to Norm, not quite touching him but lingering far closer than would otherwise be appropriate. He wanted to laugh at the scientist's obvious discomfort, but that wouldn't be right. Still, he recognized the echoes of his own relationship with Neytiri, how it formed slowly, the two of them drifting ever so slightly closer together day after day. _He's already doomed._

"If you do this for us, we'll refuel _Capital Star_ and send you and your crew on your merry way. On one condition." Jake cautioned, returning his attention to the prisoner.

"Yeah?"

"You launch that railgun straight into the gas giant... and never come back." His mind was tired of conducting battle plans, scheming to defeat enemy after enemy. Abilities like that never left a man entirely, once a marine always a marine was the old saying. But that didn't mean he had to like it. He would much rather be out there, the natural sounds of Pandora filling his ears, the scent of the trail filling his nostrils. Jake would rather oversee the successful Trials of young hunters and fly side-by-side with his mate over the eastern sea. Maybe some wanted glory or some epic epitaph carved in history, but all he desired was for the universe to just leave him and the People alone.

"Deal. Fuck, that's all I ever wanted to do in the first place." Dravis replied. Jake gestured to his warriors, and they led the captain away from the fire. Neytiri smiled at him, her heart at ease in his arms, her mind flowing through his almost as if they were deep in the bond. One secret remained to his mind, carefully guarded, for if Neytiri truly understood what he planned to do, he wasn't sure how she would react. How could any Na'vi react, seeing their world from above, fighting within the twisted maze of a starship? But if she followed him, and he suspected she would not be talked out of it, that would be exactly what she would see and do.


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's Note: We're coming up on the final few chapters. It's been a wild ride and I honestly never thought I'd get such positive responses from all of you. I also didn't realize how long my story would have to be to explain all of the plot details. In any case, thank you for reading, reviewing and occasionally setting me straight. Please, enjoy._

Silence: it was the natural state of the universe, a tranquility of nothingness that echoed across space and time. So much of the void was filled with this pervasive absence of form and function. Stars no longer glittered and glowed, they just simply _were_, an infinite field of stellar pinpricks in the blackness. Space had always been his brother's dream, proof that twins were not truly identical, no matter what the genome might suggest. Before maudlin could set in, he glimpsed his mate's body, shifting this way and that in zero-g, her voice expressing a childish joy he hadn't seen in her since that first night together.

"My Jake, I am like _ikran._" She flew through the cargo hold as if gliding over the clouds. Even in this unfamiliar place, she was so graceful, so beautiful. For a moment, he could almost forget the coming storm. He joined her then, twirling through the air, dancing from side to side.

"And I am like _Toruk_," he teased, swooping down from the ceiling, pushing them together to the floor. It was then that she saw the viewport, the world coming into view for the first time.

Eyes reflected the light, gazing out into the emptiness with a sense of wonder and amazement, not quite understanding the scale of the cosmos until this very moment. Neytiri floated weightless, as if suspended in a cushion of air, holding on to the railing near the magnificent viewport. Her necklace shimmered in front of her, flowing as it possessed by the four winds.

Since Eywa had brought the mysterious dreamwalker into her life, he had been amazed by her, fascinated by her strange ways and her connection to that limitless life-force. Now it was her turn to stare, to wonder about the depth of wisdom and understanding Sky People must possess to do such things. They might be foolish, deadly things, but their power was beyond comprehension. Bright light shimmered on the horizon of her world, shining from behind the terminator, yellow rays outlining the curve of her home.

Neytiri's mind grasped something in that moment, a realization that dawned upon her like the morning sun breaking through the treetops. Without Eywa in their hearts, without the voices of their ancestors lingering in their minds, the Sky People had sought another answer to the question. _Why do I live? _Bows and knives did not speak to them, so they sought the counsel of machines born of metal and fire. Their machines of metal and fire did not have answers for them either, so they sought wisdom in the stars, going ever-further in the quest to know _why._ Finally their hunger had brought them here, to her home, using the very soil as another step stone to something greater, heedless of those in their way.

For the first time, she pitied her enemies among the Sky People, most of them could not _see_ as she did. Not yet. As she felt her lifemate's hand join hers, she realized that someday they would. Someday, they would know _why._

"Sir, we're coming into the detection envelope," said Trudy over the intercom, breaking the spell of silence. "I have _Capital Star_ on my screens."

Jake left the side of his mate, grabbing the railing, leaving her to ponder the mysteries of the universe in her own way, ducking down into the cockpit. It was difficult, being so much larger than any human craft was designed for, but he managed somehow.

"Valkyrie one-niner, we have you on approach. Standby for code confirmation." The landing signal controller stated simply over the radio. Strapped to the copilot's seat, Dravis input his command code, the computer accepting and beeping a confirmation.

"Valkyrie one-niner, you are ordered to reverse burn and match course and speed. Do not deviate. Do not approach." The controller added.

"Sir?" Trudy asked. Somehow it was comforting to hear her fall back into her military regimen. Ever since the _Capital Star _had appeared in orbit, she had been on edge, her mannerisms growing further from her training, her anger bubbling so close to the surface. Her hostility and resentment had grown with each day. Jake understood it well enough, he too was simply tired of fighting, worn out from one too many battles. Now that there was only one more battle to face, both of them had recovered something of their old habits, falling back into routines that were comforting and natural. There's no such thing as an ex-marine, indeed. Even as he thought more like one of The People, some element of that life never completely left him, always lingering in the back of his mind.

"Turn us as they instruct, but don't change course. Go into an unpowered drift." Jake ordered. Trudy's hands were a blur, turning the shuttle around slowly, depriving Neytiri of her view of Pandora. The Na'vi hunter paddled through the air, sticking her head through the cockpit's hatchway.

"Do they attack?" She asked in English. Neytiri didn't even know what kind of weapons one would use in this strange void so far above her world.

"Not yet." Jake answered. But it was only a matter of time before they did. Captain Dravis said nothing as they slowly glided in, engines shutdown, continuing on a one way course they no longer had the fuel to escape from. Whatever happened, they were committed, prisoners to fate.

* * *

"They're drifting in." The controller pointed out unnecessarily. Carlson's apprehension was beginning to get the better of him. The attack had failed miserably. Before _Capital Star _drifted out of range, he had seen his mercenaries huddle in a last-ditch perimeter. It had been ages since he left SecOps for Administration, but a part of him always remembered his training, his experience in the field. He knew a hopeless situation when he saw one.

Dravis had switched sides, that much was certain. He supposed it was inevitable; the captain just didn't have the stomach to do what had to be done. Walter could fly like no other and run a tight space freighter, but he had no fortitude, no strength.

How few truly grasped the situation at hand, the razor's edge upon which he had to walk. Earth was dying, everyone with any kind of intelligence whatsoever knew that. RDA's unobtainium program was the only solution. The company needed him, it needed his leadership to survive the broken economy, the grain plagues and the fallout. These fools were in the way, traitors to their own species, putting the whims of a tribe of spear-chuckers before the survival of their homeworld. He had no leverage on them, no way of stopping them without brute force.

At this point, it seemed unlikely that Pandora could be reclaimed without SecOps personnel; there would be no one to hold the station. Certainly the scientists and engineers on board had no ability to do so and his security detachment (one perk of reaching executive rank) was too small. Three men with pistols couldn't hold an entire planet at bay. Yet there was one last possibility, one more plan that wouldn't save everything, but might just save the company and his career. He reached for the intercom, setting it to ship-wide communication.

"All personnel to hibernation chambers, repeat, all personnel to report to cryogenic chambers immediately. This is an executive order. Chambers will activate in five minutes from my mark." Carlson stated simply. The controller frowned, starting to get up out of his seat. "No, not you. You stay here. Watch them."

* * *

"Jake Sully." The radio blared. Behind him, Neytiri twitched in recognition, knowing their prey had suddenly become the predator. She was starting to understand the ways of the Sky People. They were much like angry _nantang,_ pack animals on the hunt, always seeking advantage over one another.

"Jake Sully, if you don't respond, many people will die." The executive certainly wasn't referring to _The People._ What was going on? Trudy frowned, knowing the gig was up, if, indeed, they had fooled the administrator at all. Yet they had to come here anyway, blown cover or not.

"Fire the weapon? Fuel goes boom. I'm tired. Tired of talking about it, tired of dealing with you." Jake replied.

"I wasn't referring to the weapon. I have one-hundred and thirteen souls on board the _Capital Star, _each returned to their cryogenic chambers. They have been told that without fuel for the journey home, we will wait in orbit for a company rescue mission." Carlson said simply. "Now, I can simply shutdown the core and those lives will end. It will be painless and merciful, but they will still be dead."

Dravis groaned, gripping the copilot's hand rest, his knuckles turning white with barely restrained rage. He had risked everything for his crew, flying the mission himself, letting the mercenaries die so that some might live and taking this insane risk here and now. It had all been for nothing. The men he had trained with, taught personally, his friends, were now in the care of a madman.

"What do you want?" Jake demanded.

"You." He replied simply. "Your spear-chucking friends can rest easy. We won't be staying. But you and your mutineers will surrender to stand trial."

"You mean get railroaded as a scapegoat so the Company gets off the hook." Jake replied angrily.

"Call it whatever you like. I'm reasonable," Carlson answered amicably, as if this were all simply polite dinner conversation. "I'll even give you five minutes to decide." It was a number suspiciously close to the time they would cross range at which evading the railgun became impossible. Mass rounds were dumb-fire weapons, using their speed to make evasion difficult. However at a far enough distance, it was possible to simply fire the attitude jets and get out of the way. Soon they would be too close.

"You do it, and I will kill you." Dravis interrupted, reaching for the radio.

"Captain Walter Dravis, you're employment contract has been terminated."

"Whatever, roll it up and stuff it up your ass." The skipper replied.

"Why are we attacking the enemy where he can see us?" Neytiri asked. Somehow her less complicated outlook had caught on to the obvious that everyone else had missed. Jake could almost hear the _skxawng_ at the end of that sentence and he smiled, despite himself.

"How long does it take your ship to fire up the main engines?" Jake asked the old captain, the glimmerings of an idea forming in his mind.

"Around twenty minutes from warm start." Came the reply. "The reactor should still be hot, but it takes time to build up enough plasma."

"Okay, let's say we come in from behind the radiation shadow." Trudy chimed in, catching on. "Would we get a lethal dose?" Normally the engines were left hot, but with fuel running low and the need to maintain as much power to other systems as possible, they were shutdown.

"With the engines offline, no. I mean it's not exactly a bright idea to stick around there for long, but it won't kill us to pass through," said the old skipper.

"Good, 'cause that's a bad way to go." Trudy pointed out. Like all RDA starships, _Capital Star'_s engine was actually at the front of the ship, pulling it forward rather than pushing, with a giant mirror at the rear to utilize the high-power laser from Earth. All of the habitable modules and cargo containers were in between. It saved significantly on weight, requiring much less structural mass, but it had its drawbacks. The radiation from the hybrid antimatter/fusion drive blinded pretty much everything from a narrow angle in front. When engaged, the engine's radiation would be lethal within nanoseconds, but offline it was _less_ deadly. No one had ever anticipated taking one of these things into some kind of space battle, so the blind spots were ignored.

"Do it." Jake said simply.

* * *

"Sir, they are changing course, heading for our core's radiation shadow." The controller reported. The man was fearful for his life now, listening to the entire radio conversation. Behind him, the executive's security detachment hovered nearby, pistols drawn, ready to shoot him if he so much as blinked at the wrong time.

"Rotate the ship to keep them out of it." He ordered, before catching his mistake.

"I can't sir. The ship would fly apart." The thin spar connecting the starship's modules acted more like a cable than a true structural element. It took _days _to do a safe rotation, the centrifugal force would tear the ship apart otherwise. _Capital Star _could approach 80% of the speed of light and had set the absolute speed record for any man-made object, but she couldn't turn any faster than an Earth slug. For a moment, Carlson wished he hadn't insisted Dravis pilot the dropship. The Captain's familiarity with the ship far exceeded any of the crewmen here, if anyone could have figured out a way to keep them out of the blind spot, it would have been him.

"Shit." It was the first time he had cursed in awhile. "Put me on."

"Jake Sully, you will stop, or the entire crew dies, right-fucking-now." _Well_, Jake thought, _I finally got to this guy._

"Doing it won't stop us from coming. Nothing you do or say can stop that now." Jake answered, and he meant it. Something told him that the man was bluffing anyway, this game of cosmic poker had to come to an end sometime. Someone had to call.

"Incoming!" Trudy screamed, slamming the shuttle hard with the a combination of a main engine burn and the attitude jets. The mass round came within an arm's length of the hull, shooting by silently at incredible speed. "Jesus, that was close." She exclaimed.

"Two minutes until we pass into the radiation shadow." Dravis announced. "I hope you're as good as they say," he stated matter-of-factly, nodding to Trudy. They were in that questionable range where even computer-enhanced reflexes might not be enough to dodge the incoming fire. One mistake and they would never even know they were dead.

Another round was slung forth by the cannon, this one coming closer, the shuttle groaning with the stresses of a full burn, altering her trajectory slightly this way and that in a manner her engineers had never intended.

Sometimes people forgot Trudy was a woman, her tough exterior, her intentionally short attitude putting a wall between her and the rest of the world. She let her anger flow, but all other emotions she suppressed, intentionally keeping others at arm's length. Trudy was one of the guys, as tough as any man, and better in the cockpit. Yet every now and then she showed the other side of herself, not on purpose, but as a side-effect of her intense concentration. _Yeah,_ she thought, _I can still dance. _And the shuttle danced with her, just as she had as a little girl. Another round passed by, and another, each closer than the one before.

Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she concentrated with everything she had to keep them alive. She remembered crashing through the treetops in the flaming wreckage of her Samson. "I'm sorry Jake," she had said. She never wanted to be sorry for anything again. She would not fail, not this time.

* * *

"Range is shrinking, we're at sixty miles." The controller reported. "They'll be in the radiation shadow in less than a minute." Once directly in front of the ship, he couldn't even fire blind without hitting _Capital Star'_s own engine.

"Give me that." Carlson demanded, taking control of the railgun, trying to hit the dancing shuttle. He dialed up the velocity up to maximum, extracting all of the power he could out of the weapon. Maybe just a bit more speed would throw off whomever was piloting that thing. Another mass round flew out from the weapon and again the pilot danced around it. The shuttle's pilot shouldn't have been able to do that, they were within the envelope where a dodge wasn't supposed to be possible any longer. That meant the pilot over there had _anticipated_ that he would dial up the velocity and that he would fire at that exact moment, shifting course just before he pulled the trigger. Was this guy a mind-reader? _Fuck, what does it take to kill these people?_

"Overload in progress._" _The computer reported.

"What?"

"We drew too much power with that last shot, sir. The breakers have tripped." The controller reported. "We have to flip them manually, the computer won't engage them. Damnit, sir, we're flying a space freighter not some kind of battleship. There's some questionable readings on the integrity of the platform too."

"Just go turn on the breakers." He ordered. So the enemy would be boarding soon. Well, there was a solution for that too. For a moment he toyed with the idea of killing the crew anyway, but this Jake Sully was right, it wouldn't stop them from coming now. He would hold on to that leverage for now, perhaps it would be useful later.

"You three, I want one of you on each of the shuttle hatches. Don't blow a hole in the ship, if you can avoid it." He ordered his security detail, thanking whatever deity was out there that having "Chief" somewhere on your business card entitled you to company-paid bodyguards (RDA executives weren't exactly adored on any planet). Part of him wished he would have just taken the offer, one railgun for enough fuel to return home. The deal was starting to sound a lot better as his options narrowed. Leverage, what was the right lever to move these people?

* * *

Neytiri didn't understand exactly what had happened, but she knew that it was Troo-dee who had saved them. She worked the Sky People flying machine like The People flew their _ikran. _The more she watched the Chosen Sky People, the more she found in common with them. They could not bond with their machines, not like the Na'vi, yet they had this intense focus, like the machines were part of their hands and feet. Troo-dee's hands had been a blur of motion, the shuttle had danced with her, almost as if they were one.

Perhaps there was more to the Sky People than it seemed. She knew they could not _see_, but did they think the same of her? Did her Jake wonder sometimes why she did not _know_ like the humans? Was she _skxawng_ for not knowing the Sky People secrets? Jake's hand squeezed hers, as if to say it didn't matter. It was then that she saw what Jake and the other Chosen had called a star-ship.

Air caught in her throat and her mouth hung open, eyes going wide with shock. The star-ship was larger than any _kelutrel. _The sheer scale of the metal beast surprised her, even though Jake had explained it to her in words. That Sky People could build such things! How much good could they have done, instead of killing and taking? What had her mate told her? The distance to the Sky World of Earth was like the length of this ship for every leaf and grain of sand on her world.

"Coming up on airlock two." Dravis announced. "Carlson will have someone covering it."

"This is gonna be ugly." Trudy stated the obvious, checking her sidearm and her bowie knife, ensuring they were secure. "Any of you ever train for zero-g combat?" She asked sarcastically. That was a bit of joke, fighting in space had been outlawed by almost every major power on Earth. Simple fact was, fighting in space was suicidal at best and downright idiotic at worst.

* * *

Norm was exhausted. Somehow Pey'lal, despite being wounded, seemed completely willing to continue onward. Jake had _advised _(for this was what _Olo'eytkan_ actually did) that everyone scatter to the winds until the Sky People starship was defeated. The starship, he had explained, could watch them from the skies if there were enough of The People together in one place. When scattered in smaller groups, they could not see them apart from the animals and the trees. It was true enough, of course, but like all things it omitted deeper truth. Explaining scientific concepts to the Na'vi was rather challenging at times.

Still, Norm was pragmatic enough to realize that the Na'vi had little need for science in the manner mankind did. They could fly, transfer memories and retain the knowledge of their ancestors, all without the need of modern technology. There was just no _impetus _to waste time reinventing things that already existed.

"You are deep-thinking again." Pey'lal stated matter-of-factly in English. "What of?"

"I worry about _Olo'eytkan_." Norm said.

"He is a great warrior. He will defeat this enemy." Pey'lal soothed, switching back to Na'vi. "Or do you doubt Jakesully?"

"No. Yet even the greatest warriors cannot win every battle." Norm replied somberly. The huntress touched his shoulder with her good arm, squeezing it tightly in an oddly human gesture. His face lit up, quite literally, at the unexpected touch.

"I understand. This fight-in-the-stars is very strange, it is not natural."

"It is _fubar." _Norm said, using the English term.

"What is a _foo-bar?" _Pey'lal questioned.

"It is a Sky People word, that warriors use. It means a situation that is so bad, so strange that it doesn't even make sense anymore." Norm chuckled. Jake would have found this endlessly amusing.

"I see," she said, sitting down for a moment, mostly to let _him _rest. His avatar body was so much stronger than it had been, he felt like he could do anything after he had bonded with his _ikran. _Yet next to this huntress, he was still an amateur.

"I... wanted to talk to you about something." Norm began nervously.

"About selecting a mate?" Pey'lal questioned. She visibly brightened at this.

"Yes."

"Then you should talk." She demanded haughtily.

"Sky People, they must know each other for a very long time, tens of seasons, sometimes more, before becoming... life mates..." He began.

"You wonder why we do not wait so long?" Pey'lal finished for him.

"Yes."

"Sky People cannot _see_ as we can, as you can too." Pey'lal explained. "If you can _see _into the soul, why do you need to test it?" It was a very good point. Human relationships took so long to develop because of trust, compatibility and a host of other factors, you had to be absolutely _certain _about that person, and you still stood a good chance of failure. Na'vi could see plainly on their own faces and could feel through the bond, they could be certain of things from the beginning. It was incredibly refreshing at the same time it was terribly unnerving. To know that you could not hide things, that your life was an open book for your life mate was a scary proposition. Privacy among Na'vi was an extremely important value, but privacy among a _mated pair_ was practically nonexistent. It was a simple biological fact.

"What if the bond is not right?" Norm asked.

"Then it does not form. Eywa must bless the union, or it cannot be." Pey'lal began. "That does not happen often, mostly in betrothals. I always thought it would happen if Neytiri tried to bond with Tsu'tey, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that they should not try to mate. You will know, in your heart, if it is to be."

"What I know in my heart is that I want to be among the People. I will do as our _Olo'eytkan _did." He changed the subject, not want to linger on what he felt. Truth be told, he had been avoiding her on purpose ever since discovering her interest in him. It had been a thing going back to his first hunting lessons with the clan.

"Become one of us in body as well as soul?"

"Yes." Norm said with certainty. Pey'lal surprised him, kissing his cheek softly. He felt the warmth moving up his spine, his face lighting up against his will, his ears perking upward. _She's trying to seduce me,_ Norm thought, _but I don't mind so much._ It was oddly pleasing to have women chasing after him for a change. He would have to explain everything to Trudy when they returned, the pilot would find endless amusement out of all of this.

"Dreamwalker or not, it does not matter to me." She answered. "But come, we should keep moving." As he stood, Norm's eyes tracked the moving star above, silently asking of Eywa that they return in one piece.


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's Note: Consider this two chapters in one. There is an epilogue after this that wraps up a few things too._

A forest of metal and machines lay before, darker than the deepest night of her home in the jungle, like a cave far below the land. Sky People enemies had put out their unnatural fire here, that no one might see them stalking, prowling in the floating caverns of the great starship. Only tiny, flickering lights glowed at all, giving the place a ghostly, shadowy feeling. Neytiri brushed her braids aside, unable to control the drifting strands of hair or the flowing queue behind her. Gliding along the guide cable she pushed herself further into the endless bowels of the massive beast.

"Power surge in platform six. Safety interlocks disengaged." A mysterious, unnatural female voice echoed through the long cave-like ship.

"Fuckers are out here somewhere." Trudy whispered from ahead of her.

It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere simultaneously. Unfamiliar scents wafted around her and she reached for her knife. Floating like this, she realized how difficult it would be to use her bow, how hard it would be to even cut or slash. Jake had warned her that fighting in this place changed everything she knew, that even unarmed and frail humans could be deadly here. Trudy and her mate were just ahead of her, searching the darkness for any sign of the enemy, carefully hiding behind boxes and cables, moving up slowly. Much time had passed, and still the enemy did not show themselves. She had ascended to the sky, there to fight the Sky People in their own domain, and yet they remained hidden and silent.

"Hear that?" Jake whispered. There was a clicking sound, very faint even with her well-attuned sense of hearing.

"Platform six engaged." The lifeless voice reported. "Core temperature nominal. Cryogenic link stable."

Crack. An enemy fired towards her, the bullet passing near the metal boxes around her. She felt the wind of it on her cheeks, the nearness of it shocking her into action. She rotated herself around and kicked off of the taut cable, gliding for the safety of the boxes, but the enemy was faster, flying towards her with almost impossible speed, barreling into her, pushing his knife deep into her shoulder, barely missing her neck, as they slammed against the walls of the ship.

"Neytiri!" Her mate screamed in terror, trying to glide back to her, but another enemy emerged from the darkness to attack him.

Pain didn't matter, she cast it aside as if it didn't exist. Droplets of blood circled around her as she broke free of the human's deadly embrace. Pushing off of the wall behind her, she brought up her own knife, slashing viciously across the human's torso, blood spilling forth in floating droplets that splashed on her face with sickening wetness. The human's foot swung around as he gripped a cable, knocking the knife from her hands and sending her pin wheeling back again. Instinct took over, she was a hunter, a warrior, and she would not die up here cutoff from Eywa, so far from her home. The demon glared at her, grabbing on to the cable again, launching himself at her with the knife held out before him, like a fearsome _ikran _diving towards its prey. She reached for her seemingly useless quiver of arrows and braced herself against the wall, shoving the point of it into the human's eye, pushing it into his skull with all the force she could manage. The scream was like nothing she had ever heard before.

Jake watched helplessly as the bodyguard attacked his mate, wounding her deeply. Pulling himself along, he rushed towards her, desperate to save her. Trudy and Jake had gone ahead first, expecting to bear the brunt of the enemy's expected ambush, but the guards had waited until all three had passed by, attacking Neytiri first. He drew his pistol, trying to get a clean shot, but there was too much going on, blood, knives and screams mixing into a furious frenzy of floating combat. A shot rang out, the bullet entering his side, just below his ribcage, pushing him sideways with translated momentum. Somehow, his body tuned out the pain for just a moment, his rage burning brighter than the hurt. Another guard angled from above, threatening to push him into the floor, holding an arc welder with a pack strapped to his back. Trudy was there, intercepting the man just before they made contact, the two of them pin wheeling through the air as the guard tried to bring the welder to bear, sparks flying everywhere.

Jake searched for the other enemy, he had to be out there somewhere, bullets pinging off the cargo boxes nearby, threatening to kill them all, the sheer insanity and ferocity of the attack surprising even him. The enemy shot out over the cargo boxes, pushing upward from the floor, gliding over Jake, gun hand extended. In zero-g, almost every advantage he possessed over a human body was negated. Jake knew himself as a larger, slower target with less ability to maneuver around. But he did possess one advantage over his enemy, sheer height.

Before the man could finish him off, Jake reached for the guard's feet, able to pull himself up and the guard down, momentum equalizing, throwing off the man's aim. There wasn't enough time for careful aim or thinking, the gun hand was adjusting, coming around to blow his brains all over the ship. Jake shoved his pistol against the man's heel and pulled the trigger, the bullet shattering bone and flesh with a sickening crunch. The guard screamed in terrible pain, but maintained his presence of mind, trying desperately to bring his own weapon to bear. Jake pulled up the man's body, latching on to his wrist, trying to keep the gun from turning on him. Spittle splashed on his face as the man cursed in agony, both of them locked in a deadly, twisting embrace, spinning in midair. The guard had the better grip, slowly turning the pistol towards him before his face twisted in shock and terrible agony.

Trudy was behind them, holding the arc welder, dragging her opponent's powerpack, still strapped to his floating body. Terrible burns covered her right arm, extending up to her neck, the stench of burning cloth and flesh invading Jake's nostrils.

"Figured you could use a hand." She said weakly before her eyes fluttered and she drifted mercifully into unconsciousness, whether from the burns or some other wound, Jake could not say. Pain invaded his senses as the battle-trance fell away from him, the bullet had driven deep into him. There was no way for him to know how much damage had been done, he didn't even have a good grasp of his own anatomy. It didn't matter anyway, Neytiri was injured, there wasn't anything else worth thinking about just now. Somehow he managed to drag himself and Trudy's unconscious form along the wall railing, reaching his mate's side as she drifted next to the viewport, droplets of blood floating around her.

"Neytiri..."

"It is okay, my Jake," she began. "It hurts, yet I will live. Eywa yet watches over us."

"I hope so." He replied weakly, relief flooding over him. She was trying to wrap a piece of the guard's shirt around her wound, attempting to stop the bleeding. It was then that she saw the hole in his side, the leaking blood, the mask of tranquility barely covering the pain underneath.

"My Jake..."

"I'll be fine. We need to help Trudy."

"You will not be fine. You must get the _bullet _out." Neytiri began.

"Later." Jake replied. "I've had worse." And he had, remembering the terrible battle which had left him a useless cripple. Still, as far as fights went, this was definitely the most up close and personal he had been in since his duel with Quaritch.

"Dravis." Jake said into his radio. "Get in here, we need a med kit." The old captain had wanted to fight, but no matter how good of shape he was in, Dravis was pushing sixty. Besides, someone had to be strapped to the pilot's seat of the shuttle in case things went bad. But another gun hand might have made a difference here, might have saved everyone a lot of hassle and wounded flesh. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, the old saying went, and how true it was.

* * *

"I disabled the interlocks, sir. We can reengage the breakers for platform six. It didn't shortout, thank God." The young crewman replied.

Carlson simply pulled the trigger in answer, allowing the crewman to express his gratitude to the deity in person. He hadn't wanted to do it, but if word got back to the company of his threat to toast the entire crew in cryo, it would be the end of his career and probably the start of a long prison term. It wasn't so much that he done these things that would bother the other executives, it was the fact that he had been _caught. _If there was anything they disliked more than losing money, it was losing face.

He pushed the body away, taking manual control over the reactivated railgun, scanning the heat signatures near the native encampment. Whoever was in charge over there had brains, he'd give him that, but _Capital Star'_s sensor suite was far more powerful than any of the Pandoran satellites. Some of the native groupings had been lost to background noise, but he was able to isolate a few. He would only get a few shots before Hell's Gate figured out what he was up to, but it would serve to show his resolve, his willingness to do more than just bluff. His bodyguards were dead, though they had wounded the enemies greatly. But it wouldn't be enough to stop them, not now, not after they had come so far. He needed to buy their cooperation in the only manner left to him.

The railgun belched out a mass round towards the surface, targeting a small group of natives on the surface. With atmospheric reentry and other factors, it wouldn't be as precise as he would have liked, but the law of averages would ensure one round or another would kill them. He only need a few dead bodies to prove his point, but part of him truly enjoyed this. It felt good to kill _something_ after so many defeats.

* * *

They would sleep in the tallest tree they could find, Pey'lal had decided. Norm went along with it, what else could he do? Her connection to the forest was incredibly strong, even among the Omaticaya. She knew where to go and what to do as if it were all pure instinct. Which, Norm supposed, it might very well be. Mankind had lost touch with some of those instincts as it had come to rely more on computers and machines, and he realized they had lost something in that exchange. Maybe it was just his Avatar body, or maybe he was relearning that atrophied human ability. In either case, he was beginning to feel it himself. He felt it when riding his _ikran _through the skies, when he achieved his first kill on the hunt and, he realized, whenever he hung around her.

A single _atokirina _floated from the canopy, hover just in front of him, fluttering in the light breeze. As he reached out to touch it out, it fluttered slightly higher, just out of reach, as if taunting him. The scientist in him knew this was one way the great tree-system communicated with the world around it. Somehow, the seed was trying to send him a message. He stepped on a log and stood higher, as if to grab it again. But like before, it fluttered even higher. This time it didn't stop, climbing above the treetops until its white glow looked just like another star. Far above, another light moved in the sky, the reflection of sunlight off of _Capital Star, _where his friends were fighting for their lives.

"What is it?" Pey'lal asked. He pointed to the _atokirina _floating high in the air.

"Eywa is trying to tell me something, like..." And then it hit him. He knew _exactly_ what Eywa wanted him to do. It was the sudden understanding of his life's purpose, the reason he had been born, the reason he had come here. Eywa knew it too, _atokirina _mobbing him from the forest, hovering nearby. Pey'lal just gasped in wonder.

"_Atokorina. _There are so many... Eywa has chosen you for something great." She managed.

"No, not me." Norm said with certainty. Pey'lal looked at him quizzically as the seeds fluttered away again, having succeeded in their message. It was proof, to him, that Grace lived on within Eywa, that her memories remained, forever.

"Do you _see_, now?" Pey'lal asked. "Eywa knows you. The Omaticaya know you. I know you. It is only you, who does not know yourself."

"Yes," he realized. His decision had been made. The huntress knew she had succeeded, and she smiled broadly. It had certainly taken him long enough, no Na'vi she knew of had waited so long, except Neytiri herself. Maybe it just took longer with dreamwalkers. That made a certain amount of sense to her, but it didn't matter. Now wasn't the time to press him on the subject, but she felt that he had made his decision. It was true that you had to _feel_ your potential mate, but there was a certain amount of pragmatism to it too.

She knew herself as a hunter, perhaps the best in the clan, but she was not good at everything. Norm was only barely competent at hunting, though he tried very hard, but what would that matter if she was good at it? He was wiser, perhaps, than any among the Omaticaya. The only thing standing between them was the fact that he was entirely unaware of his own wisdom, his own strength. And like her, he was something of an outsider, spending much of his time alone in thought just as she spent so much time alone in the forest, honing her abilities. It made sense, even in the Sky People way, even as it _felt_ right.

Thunder crashed from the skies, interrupting her thoughts. Dirt and wooden splinters flew everywhere, furious wind nearly knocking her off her feet.

"Rail blast!" Norm screamed in horror. "Fuck!"

"What is happening?" Pey'lal asked, trying to keep calm.

"The Sky People are shooting at us from the stars." He explained. "We need to find water, quick. A lake or something."

"Follow." Pey'lal replied quickly, working her way up to an insanely fast sprint. Norm was behind her, dodging tree branches and depressions in the soil, trying with all his might to keep up and barely succeeding. Glowing foliage was a blur around him as he sprinted faster and faster, running so much faster than his human body had ever been able to. Another mass round crashed from the heavens, the sheer force feeling like an earthquake of exceptional magnitude as the force of blow shoved him into the dirt. _That round was less than half a mile away,_ he thought. Pey'lal struggled back onto her feet too, wasting no time, running with an amazing grace. Somehow, she reminded him of a gazelle, leaping into the air, dodging this way and that.

Whoever was firing that thing was getting better at aiming it. One, maybe two more shots and they'd both be bloody pulp, if anything remained at all. Only water could save them now, and even then it was a slim chance. Somehow, the enemy had managed to track their heat signatures even in this jungle. The water would absorb most of the heat energy, however, no matter how good that equipment was they wouldn't be visible to it. The question was, would the operator figure it out?

Pey'lal leaped into the clearing and dove headfirst into the small lake, heedless of any predators that might be lurking about. Large bodies of water were generally dangerous places on Pandora, predators liked to lurk around for thirsty prey. But this was not the time to worry about such things, and Norm dove in after her just as the next round fell, speeding his entry.

* * *

"Fuck!" Carlson cursed. The screen had gone blank again. Part of him wondered if that group had just been a herd of wildlife or something, but it had been moving deliberately away from the native encampment. Well, there were other groupings, he thought, shifting his aim to a larger heat signature, annihilating it with the second shot. His aim truly was improving. That would do, wouldn't it? It certainly made him feel better, as if he were in control of the situation again. He reached for the ship's intercom.

"Jake Sully. I just killed some of your native friends and I'll keep killing them until you give up. If you want to blow up the refinery, good for you. If whoever down there wants to toast it, great. But you... you will surrender to me." He announced.

Finally he had good leverage, even if it required him to sacrifice his return trip. In the worst case he could kill the invaders, blow up Hell's Gate and send a message to Earth. It would be a long time in cryo, supposing a rescue even came, but it made for a good fallback position. It was better than letting this Avatar driver and his native girlfriend run him over like this. For a moment he considered trying to infiltrate the shuttle and take out his bio-link machine, but that would be too risky.

* * *

"Where is this guy?" Jake demanded.

"Platform six. It's part of the command module, and he can lockout the whole ship from up there." Dravis answered. "Getting in there is going to be a bitch."

"Why?" Jake replied.

"The command module rotates to provide some artificial gravity. You're not supposed to transfer in or out until the module's spin is canceled." Dravis replied. If there was a good place to hide and still control most of the ship's functions, it was definitely platform six. There were two rotating command modules for purposes of redundancy, each with three platforms. Most of the railgun circuitry had been wired to six, so it was the logical last-ditch hiding spot.

"I'm waiting." Carlson demanded over the intercom. "My aim is pretty good." Another mass round was ejected from the weapon, the ship shuddered in reply.

"Fuck, he's going to over-stress the connecting spar. She'll break in two." Dravis added, reaching for Trudy's pistol. "Look, I'm coming with you this time."

"Yeah..." Jake answered, reaching for the intercom.

"Fine, you win. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Jake replied to the executive.

"I have you on my cameras, drop your weapons. You too, Dravis. You will come, unarmed, to platform six." Carlson instructed, the elation in his voice difficult to miss.

* * *

"Do we blow it?" The former mercenary asked. Max was hovering over the console, trying to decide what to do. Jake had ordered him to destroy the refinery the moment _Capital Star_ started firing. Yet Jake was up there, right now and this might be his only bargaining chip. Whatever he did, it wouldn't stop the Company from killing natives. They had obviously come to terms with being stuck here indefinitely.

"Hold off for a few minutes." Max said as the soldier nodded.

"They've stopped firing." The former soldier looked up at him, confused. "What the hell is going on up there?"

"No idea... but we're not touching anything until we find out."

* * *

Trudy awoke to a massive headache, but the pain of her burns was mercifully lessened by whatever painkillers she'd been pumped full of. Someday, she'd have to stop getting her ass burned up by Company pukes. First Quaritch lighting her up like a goddamned Christmas tree, and now this. As she came to, confusion came over her.

"Where's Jake?" She asked Neytiri, nursing wounds of her own. Apparently they were more emotional than physical, a tear trying to form in zero-g was something the pilot had never expected to see.

"This Carl-sen is killing my people. Jake goes to give up to save the People." She shook her head sadly. "Enemy does not let me come, or he kill many more."

"And the bastard's probably watching us."

"Yes, with the cam-era-as."

"Where did he go?"

"Plat-form six." Neytiri answered, the strange Sky People words not making much sense to her. She still felt Jake within her, he was still alive. But if Carlson were to kill him, she would feel it, almost as if she were dying. Somehow her mother had survived her father's death, but she had never been the same, the bond, once broken, became a curse. Even without the bond, she did not want to go on without him.

"Only one thing left to do then." Trudy coughed try to drag herself along the rail, but her arm just wasn't obeying her and even through the haze of the painkillers, it was excruciating. "Help me back to the shuttle."

"You run away?" Neytiri was shocked, she had never known the warrior to give up.

"Ha, that'd be the day," she whispered. "We're gonna take out that damned gun."

* * *

What could anyone hope to gain crossing the void just to kill his people? He was surprised how easily that thought came to him, they were _his_ people. For the first time, he truly accepted his role as _Olo'eyktan, _truly acknowledged himself as their guide, their leader. Ironic that he came to terms with it all at the moment he was about to die. At least there was gravity, however weak, in the command module. He would die on his feet, though hunched over terribly in the low ceiling. _Neytiri..._ How he longed for her now, to be chasing her through the skies of Pandora on his _ikran, _hunting in the beautiful glowing wonder of the forest, feeling the cool breeze on his skin...

"Dravis, I'm willing to reinstate your employment and forget all that you've done, if you help me secure the prisoners and shutoff this _thing'_s bio-link." Carlson began.

"Begging your pardon, but fuck you, sir." Dravis said. In response, the executive pistol whipped the old captain hard enough to draw blood, recovering his composure just in time to prevent Jake from using the opportunity to attack.

"You stay back there by the hatch, step any closer and I blow that body's brains out." The executive ordered. Jake smiled despite himself, his enhanced Na'vi senses almost tasting the fear.

"I suppose I should destroy this Avatar of yours first, anyway," Carlson mused from behind a console, his back to the viewport. "Your bio-link is in the shuttle cargo bay, yes?" Apparently amusing himself, he kicked Dravis' unconscious body.

"I don't need a bio-link, this is _my _body."

"I wasn't born yesterday. You can't transfer into an Avatar." Carlson replied, reaching for his pistol. "You just want me to kill this body so you can wake up somewhere else."

"Believe whatever you want." Jake replied tiredly. "Look, lets just get this over with."

"Fair enough. I'm afraid I'm just going to have to kill this body. It's nothing personal, just business." Carlson justified to himself. "I honor my contracts, though. I will leave your natives alone. Excepting, of course, that bitch of yours on board."

"How generous of you." Jake answered sarcastically. "Before you pull the trigger, answer me this."

"Yeah?"

"Is the refinery gone?" He asked. He hoped he could make a _certain_ deal for Neytiri's life and at least convince this trash to break orbit. Carlson glanced briefly at his thermal monitor, careful to keep a watchful eye on Jake.

"You didn't blow it up?" Carlson was confused.

"My people could destroy it at any time, they might be doing it now, for all I know."

"Hmm... I suppose you want to deal." The executive scratched his chin thoughtfully. He had been certain he wouldn't be going home any time soon, but perhaps there was something to this. "What do you want?"

"Spare my people aboard. Including the captain. They take the shuttle down to the surface, then we refuel you. You can even keep your gun."

"I'll agree to your terms if," he began. "If you turn over your real body for cryo transport to Earth, to stand trial."

"I told you, I'm _permanently _transferred to this body." Jake answered stoically.

"I don't believe that for a second." Carlson responded angrily, his finger massaging the trigger of the pistol. His opponent was smiling suddenly, and it unnerved him. If he didn't want to give himself up, his _real_ self, well then, he could oblige his willingness to sacrifice this body. A proximity alarm interrupted his thoughts, blaring over the loudspeakers, even as a shadow blocked the viewport and the reflected light of Pandora.

"Proximity Alert!" The computer spoke unnecessarily. His eyes scanned the console for the source of the warning, zooming out of his planetary view. Horror crept into his mind as he realized what was happening, watching helplessly as Valkyrie 19 collided with his railgun, shattering the fragile mag-rails, rendering the weapon useless. Leverage, leverage, he had no leverage except the gun in his hand. His grip on what was left of his sanity shattered. He was again the sniveling, spoiled child he once was, cowering before his betters. Without power, he was nothing, useless and afraid.

Before Carlson could collect his thoughts, Jake was over the console, reaching for the quivering executive's skull with unrestrained rage, borne of all the dead he laid upon this man. Carlson's hand clutched the gun tightly in terror, trying to bring it up in time to shoot the mass of blue flesh heading for him. Even a single second of distraction was enough for Jake now that he wasn't floating in zero-g. Even in the weak gravity of the command deck, his powerful Na'vi body was more than fast enough to jump the console and break the man's neck in one deft move. Chief Administrative Officer Matthew Carlson fell to the floor slowly in the light gravity, his limp, lifeless body bouncing lightly once before settling on the cold steel floor, shock etched permanently on his features.

* * *

Norm shivered in the cave just beyond the lake, trying to dry off. They had remained in the water as long as possible, hoping the enemy had been fooled. Apparently he had been, or maybe Jake had finally eliminated the bastard. Regardless, he wasn't going anywhere in a hurry right now, they would just have to stay in the cave for the night.

"You are cold." She said simply, using it as an excuse to get closer to him. He didn't fight it anymore.

Pey'lal was beside him, holding his hand and leaning against him, obviously content, helping to keep his body warm. An _atokirina _floated in, hovering before both of them. Norm knew what Eywa wanted from him this time, a very different sort of request, but he wasn't in a particularly accommodating mood. Being shot at by a railgun tended to put a damper on any positive feelings. Yet the seed remained, taunting him, waiting expectantly. _Oh what the hell. It's only for my entire life._

The huntress smiled knowingly, instinctively catching the opportunity she had been patiently waiting for. Her hand was soft in his and he squeezed it gently. What was he thinking? He didn't even know what to do, exactly. Na'vi were similar to humans in many ways, but there were cultural values and traditions to consider. How did one make the first move? At least this would shut Trudy up either way.

His chaotic thoughts were interrupted by the softness of her lips on his, and suddenly he knew _exactly_ what to do. Somehow, Pey'lal was a much more daunting prospect than the trial by _ikran._ But as with many things on Pandora, the solution was the same. As he felt her warmth against him, her lips dancing over his, they made the bond. The excitement of it was a shiver down his spine. It was as if his senses had expanded a thousand-fold. Her scent, the sound of her heartbeat and the speed of her thoughts all merged together. He could hear her in his mind and knew she could hear him. _We are lifemates, _they thought together with intense certainty.

How right she had been. What had he been thinking, trying to put off something as amazing as this? Yet it had only just begun.

* * *

**One month later**

Hope Station had lived up to its name, temporarily housing the reawakened crew of ISV _Capital Star. _The survivors were mostly scientists and engineers, and they had little sympathy for the mercenaries who had fallen. Some had even expressed an interest in staying behind, as there were a few Avatar drivers in the mix. It had taken nearly a month to refuel the massive starship, one shuttle load at a time. But Dravis had managed it, piloting most of the gas collection runs through the gas giant's atmosphere himself as Trudy continued to recover from her terrible wounds.

For his part, the skipper had done as much as he could in the immediate aftermath of the battle, to atone for the crimes of his superior, helping to find the wounded and dead from Carlson's railgun rampage into the forest. It was a duty that had brought him to tears. He couldn't understand these Na'vi people, but they _were_ people, and none of them had deserved any of this.

Surviving mercenaries from the combat drop were being loaded in chains into Valkyrie 19, none of them even bothered to look their captors in the eye. Dravis stood just in front of the ramp as the last to make the journey home walked up behind the prisoners, some pausing for a last look at the world they would probably never see again. The skipper adjusted his exopack slightly, nodding to Jake Sully.

"Thanks. I really mean it." Dravis said.

"No, thank you. You helped us when you didn't have to." Jake answered. "Not sure it would have worked out without your help. It would have been harder for Trudy to do _everything _by herself_." _That was a little joke, Dravis had continually expressed his admiration for the apparently insane woman with absolutely no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. The pilot was nowhere to be seen, her burnt skin still extremely sensitive to the hostile atmosphere outside, but she would recover well enough in time.

"Yeah. You've got some good people here." Dravis fidgeted slightly as the last of the survivors strapped into the shuttle. Jake surprised him in that moment, reaching for his knife, decorated with colorful beads and scales. The Na'vi leader offered the weapon to him, Dravis gingerly reaching for it with a puzzled expression on his face.

"That has my inscription on it," Jake explained. "If you or someone you trust ever comes back here, bring it along. The People will recognize you as a friend."

"Thanks." Dravis replied simply. There wasn't much one could say to a gesture like that, or to the effort his people (both Na'vi and human) had expended in order to get _Capital Star'_s crew home.

"Jake! Wait up!" Norm was sprinting on to the runway, holding a small wooden box. "I'm glad I made it!" The former scientist had some difficulty adjusting to living in his avatar body _permanently, _but he had passed through the Eye of Eywa and come back to them. Pey'lal was behind him, obviously confused by the surroundings but trailing behind her life mate anyway. Upon landing after the battle, that had been the single greatest surprise for Jake. So many had died, he had been starting to wonder if the Omaticaya could ever recover their numbers. Norm had taken his time finding a mate, but once he made up his mind, he didn't waste any time at all. It had also answered an unspoken question of Jake's own, it appeared Avatars _were _able to interbreed successfully with the Na'vi, judging by Pey'lal's size. It was a thing for him to discuss with his own mate sometime in the near future.

"Captain," Norm began. "I have a favor to ask you."

"Anything." Dravis answered sincerely.

"Plant these when you get back." Norm opened the box, revealing several _atokirina _inside, hovering patiently within, as if they knew their mission already.

"Why? What will it do?" The starship captain asked curiously.

"Ever heard of the story of Pandora? I mean the old legend." Norm asked.

"Yeah. She was girl who opened a box, let out a bunch of evil into the world. That's why they named this place Pandora, it was a damned deadly mystery." Dravis rambled.

"Well the end of the story had Pandora looking into the box again, after all the evil has escaped into the world. She sees hope remaining." Norm explained solemnly. "For Earth, this is that Hope. This is Pandora's box."

"You think it will make a difference?" The skipper asked. This was something he could do, no, something he _would _do. His children back on Earth had long since grown by now, he probably had grandchildren by now, but a part of him had always wished they could have been raised in Earth-that-was. The pictures of Earth before the Great Wars were majestic and beautiful, so much like Pandora itself.

"Yeah. You know all the chemicals in Pandora's atmosphere?" Norm questioned. "The trees here, they filter it out at the same rate it flows in, keeping the planet's atmosphere in balance." He didn't know what the source of the various trace gasses was, though he suspected it had to do with the gas giant, but Pandoran wildlife had adapted to a certain amount of it, and the trees made sure it didn't exceed that amount.

"To keep a long story short," this was a new concept for Norm, something he had picked up from his quieter lifemate, "enough of these trees could help clean up Earth." Norm knew it was Grace's memories which had suggested this to Eywa, and if Grace believed it, it was good enough for him. He would never return to Earth, there was no reason for him to, but he still felt a certain obligation to his former home.

"I'll do it." The captain said, accepting the box, closing the lid softly. "I hope you're right. God... I hope."

Dravis took one final look at the Pandoran Sky, the creatures flying over head with their Na'vi riders, the massive gas giant rising in the sky and the great trees beyond the base. He knew he would never see it again. The cargo door closed and soon Valkyrie 19 was in the air, reaching for the heavens one last time.

Jake squeezed his mate's hand tightly, enjoying the sensation of her next to him, as they both watched the shuttle disappear into the clouds. For a long while, neither spoke, enjoying the moment together. Soon they would leave Hope Station, probably for good. It was the way things should be, he just didn't belong there anymore. Excitement filled him as he anticipated flying with her, diving through the floating mountains, hunting from the clouds. It was how he was always meant to live.

"My Neytiri," he began, collecting his thoughts.

"My Jake," she replied, her mouth curving into a natural smile.

"Have you ever thought about..." The words stuck in his throat for a moment, a brief flutter of nervousness collecting in his stomach. But he didn't need to finish. Her eyes told him that she knew, her smile told him the answer to his unfinished question.

* * *

Trudy cursed. She watched the shuttle take off from the Ops window. _About fucking time. _It wasn't that Dravis and his band of engineers and crewmen were bad people, actually she was quite convinced the man was relatively decent. She was just tired of all the bullshit. Everything the Company touched turned to crap. If they never came back, it would be too soon. And damn it, she was tired of getting burned up. At this rate she'd be more scar than skin, and though she never obsessed over her looks, she _liked _the way she looked before. _Who the fuck am I kidding, the only lays left around here are a bunch of scientists and a couple of ugly-ass mercs. _

Well, they would have to do. She didn't want to go back to Earth, even though they had offered to take her. _God, Earth... what a shithole. _Maybe Norm's little science experiment would make everything all nice and pretty again, but she didn't count on it. Even if it did work, it would be decades or centuries before the effect was measurable. She'd rather stay here and take her chances with the Na'vi. According to Jake, there was some talk about initiating her into the tribe, human or not, for everything she had done for them. _It's about time they learned some fucking manners, took 'em long enough to say thanks, _she thought.

– **See the Epilogue for more – **


	11. Chapter 11 Epilogue

_Author's Notes: This is just an epilogue, so you can consider it optional, but I figure some will want to know how things played out in the end._

**Epilogue**

Corrosion lined the worn halls of Hope Station, lack of maintenance finally taking its toll on the old base. Lights flickered in Ops, most of the stations long dead. Only the holographic display still worked, tracing the outline of the ancient Hometree, destroyed so long ago. Every detail was there in shimmering light just as it was thirty years before, a monument in time hovering in the air. Vines grew just outside the window, the metal and glass unable to hold back the relentless advance of the forest beyond.

Trudy's footfalls echoed across the command deck, every step seeming to disturb the ghosts of this place, the faces of those long-dead, the memories of a people light-years away. Her fingers slid along the railing of the holo-projector, recounting its surface by memory alone. Her eyes caught every detail of the floating tree she had refused to destroy so long ago. A smile crossed her weathered features, satisfaction at a job well done, another mission completed. As she stood over the ops console, she reached for her knife, carving the name of her new people in the metal. It was appropriate.

For a moment her eyes lingered on the outline of her Samson, and a single tear worked its way down her cheek, lingering for a moment before falling to the worn metal deck below. She remembered everything that happened, the wave of memory coming at he all at once like a tidal wave. She never would have allowed anyone else to see her like this, but alone at last, she could let her fearsome guard down. Trudy had prepared for this day for some time, setting up her own little camp with exopack filters and air-tight off-site containers among the Omaticaya, the first _human _accepted in to the tribe as an equal. She had returned here less frequently over the years, mostly to just raid for supplies, but there was nothing else she needed. She would not be coming back. Yet even then, she knew she would return here in her dreams, even as these halls rusted away to nothingness, rejoining the soil and life it had helped to destroy and preserve.

"Goodbye." She whispered, turning on her heels. A worn and faded sign advised personnel to watch power usage and shutdown unnecessary systems. And she did so. Hope Station died for the final time, her lights dimming, her systems shutting down one at a time, finally as lifeless as the dirt upon which she rested. The hologram flickered, the tree within shifting, wavering in the air before vanishing forever. But the former pilot was already gone, heading towards her new life, out there, in the wild in which part of her had always dwelt.

* * *

Years turned into decades, and finally to over a century, by the ancient Earth reckoning. RDA never returned to Pandora, falling into bankruptcy shortly after ISV _Capital Star _arrived home. It was the largest single bankruptcy filing in human history, a record which has not been broken since. Her great starships were broken up for the unobtainium held within their antimatter cores, the structurally deficient _Capital Star _being the first to reach the scrapper's torch. Ultimately her sisters shared her fate, never sailing the stars again.

It was the end of humanity's first foray beyond her home, but it wouldn't be her last. The incredible expense, the envelope that was pushed to its ultimate limit, had produced the mammoth starships at the very earliest moment they were within technological reach. Mankind had spared no expense on the great monsters, it had poured every resource, every grand idea into the project, some calling it Earth's last hope. After RDA fell apart, there was no one to expend such amounts of capital, and humanity confined itself to the solar system for nearly a century. There was talk of returning to Pandora, rumors of the lost colony of humanity out there in the stars, but that was all that came of it. Earth's fragile economy crashed, most of her factories closing their doors, her population living on the brink of starvation, her biosphere a radioactive and chemical waste. Many governments collapsed, and even the most powerful corporations felt the terrible squeeze.

Somehow, Pandoran trees began sprouting in the contaminated soil, ideally suited to such a toxic environment, coming as they did from a planet with equally deadly things in its atmosphere. At first there were only a few and botanists suggested that some trooper had probably accidentally brought the seeds on the heel of his boot. After awhile, it became apparent that the plantings were deliberate, but no one ever found out who had done the deed. After a century of growth, the plants bred rapidly and had spread across the globe, measurably decreasing the toxins in the atmosphere and the soil, cleaning a planet soiled by her own children's petty squabbles. The global economy began to recover as crops sprouted again in the bread basket of the world. Surviving animals in the wild, once pressed to the brink of extinction, began to recover. No one could explain these things, but they happened nonetheless.

Factories reopened, but this time humanity was prepared, miniaturization greatly reducing the scale of resource consumption. Eventually, methods were invented to synthesize room temperature superconductors, obviating the need for unobtainium mining. Ships began reaching for the stars once again. Pandora was the logical first destination and Earth's people worked hard to built the first new starship in a century. The _Nautilus_ sailed forth from her recovering homeworld, reaching the Alpha Centauri system in 2261. It was the dawn of a new era in space exploration for mankind.

_Nautilus _managed to locate the ruins of extrasolar colony 01, finding the place an abandoned, lifeless hulk of decaying metal. Archaeologists poured over the wreckage, concluding that about thirty years after _Venture Star _had quit the planet, the colony had failed. There was much debate among scientific circles as to exactly what caused the failure. Some thought the exopack masks were inherently flawed and had failed with time. Others thought the base's power source had fallen out of alignment, forcing the survivors out among the Na'vi natives. The only clue to support that theory was the carved name of a local tribe, the "Omaticaya," in the administration complex. Computer data had long since degraded, but forensic data analysts managed to salvage a few video logs from the infamous Jake Sully.

The log data had caused an instant uproar on Earth. Textbooks were rewritten, history was undeniably altered. Mankind's first failed colony had long since ascended into myth and legend, conspiracy theorists and amateur historians concocting wild theories about Jake Sully's rebellion against RDA. Writers began to treat the so-called race-traitor in a more sympathetic light, as a man who had fought against corruption of the RDA mega-corporation at the highest levels, trying to save an innocent people from the exploitation of an entrenched bureaucracy.

As for the Na'vi themselves, they were very wary of the so-called "Sky People," giving them a wide berth at first. But some were found to speak a curious dialect of English. Somehow, they had maintained some proficiency in the language long after the colony had vanished. After a time, a few came forward, helping mankind build its second permanent settlement on the planet, this one far more successful. Extrasolar Colony 02 was a highly profitable trading post for native art and medicine. Of all things, the local population was fascinated with Earth music and paid well in art and new plant and chemical samples for the simple musical instruments shipped there. It was an unusual but highly profitable venture and the Extrasolar Colony Company thrived, diversifying into advanced pharmaceuticals and collectable Na'vi art.

The natives became very respectful of the newcomers over time, but always watched them carefully. Some xenobiologists suggested that some of the Na'vi looked rather too human-like, that perhaps some of the colony Avatars had been bred with them, but most considered this far-fetched and ridiculous. The mystery of Colony 01 would never be conclusively solved to anyone's satisfaction. They called it the riddle of the Omaticaya, it was almost as mysterious as the old English colony of Roanoke back on old Earth.

* * *

Susan Dravis rode her hovercraft further, wind tossing her long brown hair all around her, tugging at her air mask. She was following the directions on the ancient, yellowed map passed on from generation to generation. As a child, she never had faith in the family legends, but in accordance with the will of her great-grandfather, the last man to leave Pandora, she carried the ceremonial knife with her. The Extrasolar Colony Company had granted her the honor of taking the first step onto Pandoran soil and as her craft flew onwards, she began to believe those old tales. A single tree, much larger than the descriptions, loomed in front of her, reaching for the heavens. Impossibly tall, blue-skinned natives were everywhere, watching her suspiciously, warding her away, threatening her with their bows.

"I have come to return this." She stated in English, bowing low, offering the knife.

Warriors skittered aside in shock, clearing a path forward. A truly ancient Na'vi stood before her, leaning heavily on a long wooden cane, the others watching him with barely restrained awe. Lines criss-crossed the alien's face, folds of blue skin looking as if it would simply fall away from the bones underneath. Somehow the weathered, craggy face looked familiar.

"Thanks, friend." The alien said simply in her language, with no strange accent at all. He reached for the knife, placing it within a scabbard shaped perfectly for it, just as if it had never left at all.

Jake Sully lay down in his hammock, smiling broadly as he drifted off to sleep. Memories of Neytiri stirred in his foggy mind, of her beautiful form, her smiling face, so much like their daughter's. She was calling to him again, accusing him of being a _skxawng_, laughing at him, teaching him the ways of the forest. His old friends were there too, beckoning him onward, explaining that his mission was complete, that he could come home, to them and to Eywa. All around him, he felt Eywa's comfort and her gratitude. _Yes,_ he thought, _it is time to come home._

_**Fini**_

_**Story Notes:**_

There were a few questions & concerns from some readers along the way, and I have addressed a few of them here.

**1. Why would Jake want to destroy the railgun, rather that keep it as an anti-ship defensive weapon?**

Jake is looking at this from a Na'vi perspective. He wouldn't want the weapon or responsibility for it. Besides which, though Capital Star can fire a mass-round down into the planet, it is a very different matter to shoot one up into orbit. The former only requires a round capable of withstanding reentry, where the latter requires a railgun powerful enough to lob projectiles over escape velocity. Such weapons are theoretically possible, but the implication is that this is a smaller-scale railgun, used more like a traditional mortar, simply with much greater range and accuracy.

**2. Why is Norm so hesitant to transfer to his avatar body permanently?**

Jake had an easy decision when it came to this. Being a cripple in love with a Na'vi princess makes the decision an exceptionally simple one. But for Norm, in a perfectly decent human body with no such mate, it is a thing he has to come to terms with more gradually. Obviously he does, eventually, but it makes sense for this process to take longer with him. For that matter, it would probably happen with most of the Avatar drivers left behind on Pandora sooner or later.

**3. How can Na'vi breath inside Capital Star and the Ops complex?**

Humans lungs can't deal with the toxins in the Pandoran atmosphere. The reverse is not necessarily true. I have taken the view that Na'vi breathe oxygen just like we do, it is only that their bodies are adapted to handling the other gasses in Pandora's atmosphere. They don't NEED those gasses to survive, they just have the ability to withstand them. Earth's atmosphere is actually predominantly Nitrogen, but we don't need it to breathe. We just need the oxygen. Same concept.

**4. Why is Trudy so sadistic in some scenes?**

She isn't. I take the view that Trudy intentionally projects a tough/crazy-bitch/sadistic attitude as a defensive mechanism. At heart, she's quite the softy, obviously unwilling to slaughter Na'vi in the movie, and willing to sacrifice much to defend them in this story. She does, however, enjoy sticking it to the man. And with Major Edmund's taunting, it is certainly easy to understand her satisfaction at eliminating him. Maybe it's just me, but I think calling her a "chica" is a thing one would probably regret sooner rather than later.

**5. Why are the humans able to injure Neytiri so easily on board Capital Star?**

Zero-G combat would be very different than anything on the ground. Na'vi are stronger and faster, but their muscle density is actually lighter than that of a human due to Pandora's lower gravity. Pound-for-pound, Na'vi are probably weaker than man, but of course they more than make up for this with sheer size, ending up far stronger overall. Unfortunately for them, size is not necessarily an asset in zero gravity. That said, Neytiri is still an experienced hunter and possesses a certain natural grace. Though injured in the process, she still dispatches her human opponent, more through ability than physical strength.

**6. Why does Capital Star show up so early?**

The implication here is that RDA executive management wanted to smuggle in the railgun and took advantage of the first available opportunity to do so, shipping out Capital Star ahead of schedule. Incidentally, this is also why there is an executive on board in the first place. Someone has to deal with the possible political ramifications of disobeying major Earth treaties.

**7. Why didn't Trudy just ram the railgun earlier to begin with?**

Because it was shooting at her. Trudy figured (correctly) that with Carlson busy trying to negotiate with and/or kill Jake, he wouldn't be watching the gun. At any time up until the moment she crashed into it he could have flipped on the weapon and blown her and the shuttle to space. Part of this is due to the fact that the weapon was rigged onto the ship to begin with. A proper warship might have some sort of automatic warning that an enemy is trying to do this, or some computer control that automatically fires at a hostile target within a certain range. Of course, Capital Star is anything but a proper warship.

PM me with any other questions and I might post the answers here.

**8. The Story ends abruptly, what of Norm & Pey'lal's child? What of the future of Jake & Neytiri? What happened during those 100 years anyway?**

I may write a sequel addressing, but it will be a vastly different kind of story. I introduced a few original characters here, mostly as antagonists, but the crucial OC is Captain Dravis. Though he assists our protagonists in the battle, his real contribution is bringing the story (and the seeds) home to Earth. One can almost imagine him telling the story to his grandchildren.

Despite all of the internal descriptions, this is a story told from the perspective of Earth. Thus when Capital Star breaks orbit and heads home, the story as we know it mostly comes to an end. Because of the subsequent recolonization a century later, Earth understands scattered glimmerings, through the archaeological record, like Trudy's carving of "Omaticaya" in Ops. So the Epilogue is an Earth-centric thing, describing the story of Pandora as THEY know it. Once the new colony ship reaches Pandora, the perspective resumes, but Earth has only guesses as to what happened during those intervening years.

Essentially, I purposely modeled this story on the Lost Colony of Roanoke. To me, Avatar is a modern throwback to the earliest days of the Colonial Era, when North America might as well have been an alien planet to the peoples of Europe. Norm & Pey'lal's child is not so different from Virgina Dare. Does anyone truly know what happened to her? I'm a fan of future-history stories, and it reflects in my work.

**9. How is Jake still alive a century later?**

His body was relatively new, grown in a laboratory environment. It's like resetting your biological clock, so to speak. The age of Jake's mind might be something like 130 years, but his body was that of, say, a 105 year old. It is implied that Na'vi lifespans are similar to humans, and though 105 is an extreme age for a human, it's not an unreachable one, there are many documented cases of people reaching that age. One might also suspect Eywa has a hand in this, keeping him alive to guide the Na'vi until the return of the Sky People, to prepare them for a more peaceful coexistence.

Think of it like this. The Na'vi remain the Na'vi, but with just a little bit of human influence, between Jake's immense clout and the fusion of the survivors with the Omaticaya. Genetically, a tiny piece of human DNA (from the hybrid Avatars) would have mixed in. A tiny bit of human cultural influence would mix in too, along with the language.

Conversely, Earth is restored by the actions of Eywa, manifesting in the growth of a Pandoran tree-network there. Earth is cleansed somewhat and Humanity gains just a little bit of influence from Pandora. There is the appreciation of their art (from the epilogue), the growth of the restored ecosystem, Dravis' influence after returning home and the lessons learned from RDA's failure.

In other words, in the movie, Man and Na'vi have almost no common ground. But by the time the Extrasolar Colony Company arrives a century later, there is just enough common ground to get along, to trade and coexist. Maybe it is coincidence, maybe it is the design of Eywa (as I imply), but in any case, it solves a great many problems.


End file.
